Police in Sherbrooke are investigating a young restaurant employee for criminal negligence over a plate of salmon tartare served to a severely allergic client in May that left the man hospitalized for weeks.
Sherbrooke police said a man ordered beef tartare at a local restaurant and specified numerous times to a waiter that he was allergic to both seafood and salmon.
A short time later, police say a plate of salmon tartare was brought to the table and the patron took a bite, unaware of what he’d been served because the lighting had been dimmed.
The client fell ill and was hospitalized for several weeks, even falling into a coma for two days and suffering cardiac arrest.
Martin Carrier of the Sherbrooke Police said he realizes the case is an unusual one, but notes the definition of criminal negligence in the Criminal Code allows for an arrest if there was carelessness or lack of action to ensure the health and safety of others.
Carrier said the waiter allegedly didn’t take any notes and the victim repeatedly warned the staffer about the allergy to ensure there wasn’t any cross-contamination in the kitchen.