Washart v. McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Resturants Inc.: An Atlantic County jury on Sept. 15 awarded $750,000 to a restaurant patron who claimed he sustained severe internal burns from ingesting beer that contained harsh detergent.
According to attorneys involved in the case, on Nov. 6, 2012, plaintiff Richard Washart, 53, a retired police officer, patronized McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant in an Atlantic City casino. He ordered a beer on tap. After taking a swallow from the glass, he immediately felt burning pain in his mouth and throat. He ran to the bathroom, where he began violently vomiting. He attempted to drink water from a faucet but was unable to, because of the pain in his mouth and throat. He went home, where he began vomiting blood, then went to an emergency room, and he was diagnosed with severe burns to the esophagus and stomach, caused by a caustic cleaning solution.
