KFC sued after salmonella left girl crippled

17/03/2009 - 12:06 pm by: ninemsn staff

The parents of a seven-year-old girl who was left crippled and brain damaged from salmonella poisoning are suing the owners of fast food giant KFC for $10 million.

The case against Yum! Restaurants Australia will be heard in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday and comes just a week after two Sydney KFC stores were given a record fine of $73,125 for breaching food hygiene laws, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Monika Samaan, now 11, collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital after eating part of a Twister from Villawood KFC in October, 2005.

Yum! Restaurants Australia spokesman Nick Bryden told the newspaper NSW Government food authorities had found there was no link between KFC Villawood and Monika's illness back in 2005. "KFC's supplier also confirmed that routine tests showed that the chicken supplied to the store contained none of the alleged strain of salmonella," he said. "At the time Monika fell ill no other customers at the store lodged any complaints."  

Monika's mother Hanna, 11-year-old brother Abanoub, and father Amanwial, who had also shared her Twister, also fell ill and had to be treated in hospital.

But it was Monika who suffered the worst fate. Her salmonella poisoning developed into acquired spastic quadriplegia and acquired profound intellectual disability and liver dysfunction. Before her illness, Monika has been a vibrant and chatty seven-year-old who dreamed of one day becoming a doctor, Mr Samaan told the Daily Telegraph."As a family we have gone through a lot of struggles," he said. "She loved swimming, riding her bikes and was the best in her class at school now she cannot do anything.

" Doctors at Westmead Hospital found Monika, her parents and older brother had a common strain of salmonella in their stools. Kydon Segal Lawyers, who are representing the Samaan family, are looking for anyone who worked at the Villawood store in 2005 to contact them.  

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