Man burned by caustic beer at casino eatery awarded $750,000 | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Man burned by caustic beer at casino eatery awarded $750,000

This Sept. 15, 2017 photo shows the exterior of the McCormick & Schmick's restaurant at the Harrah's casino in Atlantic City N.J. A New Jersey man whose esophagus and stomach were severely burned after drinking a beer tainted by a caustic chemical at the Atlantic City casino restaurant has been awarded $750,000. The jury ruled that the restaurant and a company it hired to clean its beer tap lines should each pay half the award. Harrah's was not a defendant in the lawsuit. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - A man whose esophagus and stomach were severely burned when he drank a beer tainted by a caustic chemical at an Atlantic City casino restaurant has been awarded $750,000.

A jury on Friday awarded the man, Richard Washart, $650,000 for pain and suffering and $100,000 for emotional distress, said his attorney, Paul D'Amato.

Washart sued a McCormick & Schmick's restaurant at Harrah's casino, claiming he was served beer tainted by a caustic agent used to clean beer tap lines. Harrah's was not a defendant in his lawsuit.

The restaurant blamed a company it uses to clean its beer lines, Kramer Beverage Co., of Hammonton, which denied being at the restaurant when Washart drank the beer on Nov. 6, 2012.

The defendants each must pay half the award.

Washart, a former Ocean City police lieutenant, said he took a gulp of the beer he had been served and immediately felt burning pain.

He ran to the bathroom, where he experienced the first of six rounds of projectile vomiting. He tried to drink water from a faucet but was unable to because of the pain in his mouth and throat.

A short time later, he began vomiting blood and went to a hospital. A doctor said he had never seen a patient survive with such severe burns to the esophagus and stomach.

D'Amato faulted Kramer Beverage, noting it doesn't follow industry recommendations to use pH testing strips that cost 15 cents apiece to check beer after lines have been cleaned. But he also said the restaurant violated New Jersey's Adulterated Food Act by serving a tainted brew.

Washart, of Seaville, was hospitalized for six days.

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Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

News from © The Associated Press, 2017
The Associated Press

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