Allergic customer dies after being served nut-based curry; restaurant owner found guilty

Zee Media Bureau/Udita Madan

England: A restaurant owner's carelessness cost him his reputation as well as a customer's life. The man in question is Mohammed Zaman, a 52 year-old owner of an Indian restaurant called Indian Garden in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, England.

In January 2014, the customer, Paul Wilson, 38, who was allergic to nuts, had ordered a dish of Chicken Tikka Masala, specifically requesting them to avoid the nuts.

However, Wilson suffered a severe anaphylactic shock after eating the takeaway containing nuts.

The court has found Zaman, the owner, guilty of manslaughter after a trial at Teesside Crown Court, who heard that the accused 'cut corners' by using ingredients of a cheaper quality that contained peanuts.

Zaman refused to take responsibility regarding the issue, however, the jury was told that he exchanged almond powder for a cheaper groundnut mix, which contained peanuts.

There is evidence that Wilson, who was a bar manager at Helperby in North Yorkshire, had specified “no nuts” while ordering his dish, since the instruction was written on his order as well as on the lid of the takeaway box.

According to BBC, the court heard that Zaman was almost £300,000 in debt and cut costs by using the cheaper nut powder and by employing untrained, illegal workers.

Furthermore, BBC quoted Wilson's parents, Margaret and Keith, from Sheffield, who said he was "meticulous" about dealing with nuts after had a reaction to a chocolate bar at the age of seven.

Mrs Wilson said the smell of nuts, or accidentally drinking from the same glass as someone who was eating them, could trigger a reaction.

"He was always very, very careful whenever he was out in a restaurant or working," she said.

Zaman, however, claims that he left his manager in charge of the restaurant, which meant that their duties included ordering stock and hiring staff, while also telling jurors that he was not on the premises when the curry was ordered.