On October 5th 2023, Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan passed away from an allergic reaction caused by a meal at the “Raglan Irish Road Pub” in Disney Springs, Florida.
She was a family doctor at NYU Langone, a nationally ranked hospital in New York, New York.
Tangsuan was severely allergic to tree nuts and dairy products. When the party asked several times if Tangsuan could be accommodated, she was assured by staff that her allergies would be taken into account.
The restaurant’s website, Raglan Irish Road Pub, states, “Kindly note that we are NOT a Gluten/Allergen free restaurant. We CANNOT guarantee that any dish we prepare is free from Gluten/Allergen or free from cross contact…Guests must use their own discretion to make informed choices based on their individual dietary needs.”
When the dishes came out to the table, the plates were supposed to be marked with “Allergen Free Flags” that are commonly used by Disney, but none were found.
Regardless, the group was once again assured by the server that the food was up to standard with Tangsuan’s requests. Shortly after their meal, Tangsuan started having trouble breathing, and soon collapsed in a nearby restaurant.
Tangsuan used her EpiPen while a bystander called 911, and Tangsuan was quickly transported to a nearby hospital, which is where she ended up passing away a few hours later.
On May 31 2023, Tangsuan’s husband, Jeffery Piccolo, filed a lawsuit against Disney, despite the restaurant not being owned or operated by Disney.
Disney’s lawyers tried to dismiss the lawsuit since the couple signed an agreement for both a free trial to Disney+, and a waiver to purchase tickets for access to Disney theme parks.
The Disney+ terms and conditions on their website states that “TO EXTENT NOT PROHIBITED BY ANY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL DISNEY+ AND ESPN+ PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, OR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INSIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL, DAMAGES OF ANY KIND…”
At this time, neither Piccolo nor Disney has stated the status of the lawsuit, but we believe it is still ongoing.
