SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 15, 2011) - A jury Monday awarded plaintiff (Ellis v. Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Case # CGC-09-492882) Julia Ellis $3.25 million for past and future medical bills and pain and suffering following an incident in which Ms. Ellis suffered severe chemical burns to her esophagus and stomach while staying at Harvey's Casino in Lake Tahoe, Calif. The verdict was handed down solely for damages, as Harvey's Casino, and its parent company Harrah's, had already accepted liability for Ms. Ellis' accident.
On December 2, 2007, Julia Ellis approached one of the bartenders at Harvey's Casino where she was staying and asked for a bottle of water. Ms. Ellis was handed a Harrah's branded bottle of water, took a large drink, and promptly doubled over in pain, screaming that she was burning from the inside. Ms. Ellis was immediately rushed to the hospital, where it was determined that the contents of the bottle was in not fact water, but rather a highly caustic, highly toxic, concentrated cleaning solution used by Harvey's Casino, with a PH of nearly 13.5 out of 14. A Harvey's employee had apparently poured the solution from its large storage container into an empty, unmarked Harrah's water bottle and left it in the kitchen, where it was soon thereafter served to Ms. Ellis.
Christopher B. Dolan, Esq., of The Dolan Law Firm in San Francisco, counsel for the plaintiff, stated, "Food safety is a national priority. This is a tragedy that never should have happened and that could have been avoided. We thank the jury for providing help to our client, and hope that this result will make those we trust with keeping our food safe re-examine their safety procedures to ensure this sort of catastrophe never happens again."
