The Plaintiff attended restaurant and ordered caramel apple cheesecake, which contained walnuts.  Before ordering, the Plaintiff asked the Server whether the cheesecake contained nuts because he was allergic.  The Server failed to make inquiries and served the cheesecake.  The Plaintiff took several bites of the cheesecake and experienced an anaphylactic reaction.  The Plaintiff retrieved his EpiPen, but failed to administer the medical device.  The Court held that the Server breached the standard of care, and this breach caused the Plaintiff’s anaphylactic reaction.  The Court refused, however, to compensate the Plaintiff for “later harm” which allegedly arose from the anaphylactic reaction.  This “later harm” included symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, personality changes, headaches, nightmares, high blood pressure, asthma, cognitive defects and fear of confined spaces.  The Court held that this “later harm” was not caused by the anaphylactic reaction and despite a substantial damages claims, the Plaintiff was only awarded $25,000 as non-pecuniary damages for the anaphylactic reaction itself.

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