Florida Man Paralyzed By Seafood Poisoning Gets Huge Payout

After a couple was allegedly poisoned by oysters at a Florida restaurant they got a hefty sum of money, thanks to a jury’s verdict. Maria Elena Martinez and her husband Angel were awarded $6.7 million in a May ruling that held the Lobster Haven restaurant in Tampa, Florida, responsible for Angel’s rare and debilitating condition.

The couple had eaten at Lobster Haven several times before the fateful meal on December 2013, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Often enough, in fact, to have a usual order. They got two lobsters and a dozen oysters, as always.

Both of them suffered from vomiting and diarrhea not long after the meal. Maria recovered quickly. Angel, on the other hand, was eventually hospitalized. He had developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which only affects one in every 100,000 people.

GBS causes the immune system to attack its own body, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Its root cause is unknown and there is no cure.

Due to GBS, Angel became paralyzed from the waist down and had to learn to walk again. Attorney Brent Steinberg said Angel will likely suffer from residual effects for the rest of his life, even if he has gotten past the worst GBS has to offer.

Lobster Haven offered to settle for $20,000 at one point, but the couple did not accept what was a paltry sum compared to their medical bills. The restaurant said Angel likely got GBS from slaughtering and eating a lamb days after the oyster meal, according to the Times. The jury disagreed, awarding the money to Maria and Angel.

Earlier this year, around 100 people in California were made ill by eating raw oysters harvested in Canada. The oysters gave them norovirus.