Contaminated takeout food led to SC man’s death and restaurant settles six-figure lawsuit

Like countless other football fans, John Roger Laughlin got an order of takeout food — chicken wings and fried rice — to eat with his family while he watched a college football game in 2020.

Unbeknownst to the 70-year-old, it was the last meal the South Carolina resident would consume, as Laughlin died the next morning after both he and family members became violently ill.

They suffered food poisoning from the fried rice that had been contaminated with bacteria at the restaurant, suffering stomach pains, severe vomiting and diarrhea, according to his widow’s attorney.

Now the Greenwood restaurant, International Café, has settled a lawsuit from Laughlin’s estate for $825,000, a court document shows.

“This settlement serves as a recognition of the pain and suffering endured by Mr. Laughlin’s family at the loss of his life,” said attorney Tombo Hite of the Hite Law Firm, who along with his sister Heather Hite Stone represented Lauglin’s estate. “We hope no one else will lose a loved one due to the failure to follow basic food safety procedures.”

What Happened

Laughlin ordered the takeout food on Sept. 19, 2020. At 3:30 p.m., he went straight home after picking up the chicken wings and fried rice that he and his now-widow, Joyce Laughlin, along with his sister-in-law ate as they watched Clemson defeat The Citadel 49-0, according to his estate’s attorneys.

Later that night, all three individuals began to get sick, and Laughlin suffered from diarrhea and vomiting that lasted on and off through the night and into the morning, the attorneys said in a lawsuit.

After Laughlin was violently ill for more than 12 hours, Joyce Laughlin helped her husband into a chair in their den, where he realized that he was too sick to go to church and felt too bad to even sit in the chair, according to the lawsuit. He decided to go back to bed.

Several hours later Joyce Laughlin returned to check on her husband and found that he was not breathing, prompting her to call 911, the lawsuit said.

When the EMS arrived, Laughlin was cold to touch and rigor was present, and it was determined that he was dead, according to the lawsuit. He had become dehydrated because of the vomiting and diarrhea, the lawsuit said.

Laughlin’s estate later learned that the rice that they had eaten from the restaurant had been left sitting at room temperature “for far too long and was contaminated with a bacteria called bacillus cereus,” the lawsuit said.

Toxin

Bacillus cereus is a microscopic organism that releases harmful toxins that can cause food poisoning or more serious health issues, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

This bacteria made Laughlin and his family violently ill and caused his death, the lawsuit said.

Although Laughlin, a former instructor of general maintenance at Piedmont Tech and Midlands Tech, was retired, he was a fit and active member of the community, Heather Hite Stone told The State. Laughlin attended the University of South Carolina and was an avid Gamecocks fan, according to his obituary.

“He was the kind of person who would work in the yard and do things outside,” she said. “He was very active with his church.”

Month of diners getting sick

Laughlin and his family were not the only ones who suffered food poisoning after eating a meal from International Café because of the restaurant’s food safety practices, according to the lawsuit. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said several other individuals who ate the rice also became so sick that they reported the restaurant to state officials, according to the attorneys.

According to the lawsuit, DHEC records show multiple complaints were made about International Café within a month of Laughlin’s death, and they include:

▪ Aug. 29, 2020, when a customer and her daughter reported to DHEC that they “had to use the bathroom repeatedly” after eating at the restaurant.

▪ Sept. 8, 2020, a customer reported ordering wings with fried rice and shortly after eating he began suffering from vomiting and diarrhea.

▪ Sept. 10, 2020, another customer reported to DHEC that he ordered rice with shrimp and steak and a few hours later started vomiting. This customer called the restaurant and was told to bring the leftover food back. The owner told the customer that someone else had called stating that they were vomiting and the owner stated that “there must be a virus going on.”

▪ Sept. 14, 2020, a group of three customers consumed chicken fried rice and other food items from the restaurant, and about two hours after eating the food they became sick with nausea and diarrhea.

▪ Sept. 16 and Sept. 18, 2020, a customer purchased wings and shrimp fried rice and then experienced nausea and diarrhea both times after eating the meal.

▪ Sept. 19, 2020, the same day that Laughlin and his family ate the food from the restaurant, about 20 other customers who also ate at the restaurant became seriously ill, several of whom needed care at Self Regional Hospital due to the severity of their vomiting and diarrhea.

▪ Sept. 23, 2020, another customer complained that she got sick after eating the chicken fried rice at the restaurant.

DHEC noted a Sept. 21, 2020, inspection at the restaurant found that rice cooked that day was kept in large pans in a cooler in a back room as part of a citation for improper cooling temperatures, the Index-Journal reported.

In the most recent online rating of International Café — from a May 9, 2023, inspection — DHEC gave the restaurant a 98% score and an A grade. That visit was a follow-up from a May 3 inspection when International Café was given an 88% and an A grade.

Columbia attorney Richard Simmons represented International Café, Greenwood County court records show.

In an answer to the lawsuit prior to the settlement, lawyers for International Café either denied the allegations or said they had no information on them.

By agreeing to the settlement, Laughlin’s estate said it understood that the settlement was “an expeditious method of disposing the matter without the uncertainty of a trial lasting a number of days.”

Laughlin’s estate also said it understands the settlement “will forever and finally end and conclude any claims (Joyce Laughlin) might be entitled to assert against (International Café) and against any other person or entity arising out of the allegations made by plaintiff.”

In addition to his widow, Laughlin was survived by three daughters and a son, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, among other family members, according to his obituary.

A funeral for Laughlin was held on Sept. 23, 2020, and he is buried at Oakbrook Memorial Park.