PORTLAND (AP) – A federal jury deliberated about 30 minutes Thursday before ruling in favor of Wendy’s restaurant chain in a lawsuit filed by a Standish woman who claimed a Wendy’s hamburger made her violently ill.
Diane Roney, 57, was hospitalized for 12 days in 2001 after eating two bites of a bacon cheeseburger at a Wendy’s in Saco. Her lawyer said she was sickened by E. coli bacteria and could have died.
Attorney Joshua Vincent, who represented Ohio-based Wendy’s, told jurors that Roney’s medical records showed evidence that her illness was caused by a possible enzyme deficiency that may also have hospitalized her nine months earlier.
Roney sued Wendy’s in U.S. District Court for $83,000 in medical expenses, lost wages and additional damages.
He said Roney’s physician of five years, Owen Pickus of Westbrook, was more credible than Wendy’s three out-of-state expert witnesses. Pickus testified that Roney’s symptoms were consistent with E.coli.
Bob Bertini, Wendy’s spokesman, said the quick verdict speaks for itself. “We feel our food safety procedures have been validated,” he said.
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