LAKELAND, FL. -- Just days before a Michigan toddler was served alcohol at an Applebee’s in Michigan, another toddler was served sangria at a restaurant in Florida.
WPTV News reports that on March 31st Jill VanHeest took her 2-year-old son, Nikolai to an Olive Garden Restaurant in Lakeland, Florida. The article states that the child became wrestless, and began behaving oddly. Soon, the waitress told VanHeest that instead of serving orange juice, they had accidentally poured tropical sangria in the toddler's cup. VanHeest took her son to the hospital, and fortunately, the alcohol didn’t have any major medical impacts.
VanHeest is a restaurant owner, and she tells WPTV that she and her husband, "work hard to get things right in their restaurant and there is just no excuse for what happened."
A letter from Olive Garden was issued, and can be found on the WPTV NEWS website. In part, it states, "...This was an extremely regrettable accident caused by the failure of an employee to follow our strict operating procedures... We have absolutely no tolerance for failure to follow our operating procedures and we took swift, appropriate action to deal with this situation..."
This is oddly similar to a case that happened in Michigan this week. 15-month-old Dominick Dill-Reese was served a margarita mix instead of apple juice when he and his family went to an Applebee's in Madison Heights. The family is suing Applebee's for medical expenses and emotional harm.
The VanHeest family is not yet sure if they will sue Olive Garden.
We want to hear your comments on these cases. Leave us your thoughts below on what you think should be done to prevent mistakes like this.
