Let Us Now Consider This Rare Food-Poisoning Lawsuit From Delco

A Philadelphia man sued the Springfield Diner in Delco, claiming he suffered from food poisoning as a result of his meal there. (Image via Google Maps)

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Did Delco’s Springfield Diner Make a Philly Man Horribly Sick?

I see lots and lots of lawsuits move through the local courts. It’s just part of the job. And I also see lots of complaints about food poisoning in the various social media food groups I’m in. But it’s not often I see a person file a lawsuit against a restaurant for food poisoning.

Philadelphia resident Roy Edwards did just that against the Springfield Diner in Delaware County. He it filed it last July. It’s been winding its way through the courts since then.

In his complaint against the Springfield Diner, Edwards said he ate there in July 2021 with his girlfriend. He ordered the salmon with a side of corn. It didn’t go so well, according to Edwards.

He claims the Springfield Diner negligently served him “pathogen-tainted” food. The lawsuit doesn’t say why Edwards thinks this, as opposed to him maybe just coming down with the stomach flu or perhaps getting sick from something he ate earlier in the day or the day before. But it does go into detail about the symptoms Edwards says he suffered. He claims he became violently ill with stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, among other issues.

Proving a case of food poisoning can be incredibly difficult. Don’t get me wrong: Food poisoning does happen. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that one out of every six people in the United States gets sick from food poisoning each year. According to the CDC, 120,000 of those food-poisoned people wind up in the hospital. And something like 3,000 people die from food poisoning every year.

But establishing a direct line between the clams, chicken, salad or pizza you ate for dinner last night and you clutching the toilet at 2 a.m., promising God you’ll be a better person if the puking just stops — well, that’s an uphill battle, as Rutgers University professor and food safety expert Donald Schaffner has explained to us in the past.

If food poisoning is the culprit, symptoms could set in within moments of you eating a bite. Or you might not get sick for several hours, or a day or two. Sometimes, food-poisoning symptoms can take weeks to show up. And that food poisoning may have come from that piece of chicken that just didn’t taste right. But it could have also come from the croissant you enjoyed with your coffee. I’m 99 percent sure the Burger King cheesesteak-inspired burger I tasted on behalf of this very publication in 2018 led to me projectile-vomiting two hours later. But I don’t know that.

“Most people think they got it from the last thing they ate, but that’s not necessarily true,” Schaffner told us in an interview. “It’s rare that you’ll find any sort of ‘smoking gun’ evidence when it comes to this stuff.”

Of course, some cases of suspected food poisoning are a little more straightforward. Remember when 100 people said they got sick after eating at Chinatown staple Joy Tsin Lau in 2015?

If you think you got food poisoning from a given establishment, you can call your local health department to file a report. That’s what I did some years back when I foolishly ordered a chicken gyro from a Market Street food truck on a 100-degree day. I got very, very sick for an hour or so. And then I was fine. When the health inspector showed up in days that followed, they found some horrific conditions, as they noted in their report, and the food-truck operator voluntarily shut down.

As for Edwards and the Springfield Diner, the restaurant just settled the case out of court. The terms weren’t made public. But according to one Springfield Diner manager I spoke with, it’s perfectly safe to eat at the restaurant. “We didn’t admit we did anything wrong,” he insisted. “Sometimes the insurance companies just settle things rather than pay for the cost of litigation.”

The attorney representing Edwards didn’t return a call seeking comment.

John Fetterman Douses MSNBC with Zoom Confetti

Now that’s a headline I never expected to write. In a bit of accidental comic relief during these turbulent times, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman released virtual confetti during a Zoom interview live on MSNBC this weekend.

John Fetterman and his Zoom confetti on MSNBC (image courtesy MSNBC)

Fetterman made air quotes with his fingers, and doing so apparently tells Zoom that you want to fill the screen with confetti.

While We’re On the Subject of John Fetterman …

He’s offered to travel to Tennessee to officiate weddings for same-sex couples. Because Tennessee is a bastion of progressiveness, the state now has a law that allows public officials to refuse to marry same-sex couples.

Bucks Businessman Drops $9,000 on Donald Trump Sneakers

That’s for one pair of sneakers. Say hello to watch dealer Roman Sharf.

Local Talent

Back in the mid-to-late 2010s, Philly stand-up comedian Shane Gillis, a Mechanicsburg native, was rising through the ranks of the local comedy scene. Then, seemingly from out of nowhere, Saturday Night Live hired him as a cast member in 2019. But very soon after SNL made that announcement (actually, starting that same day), clips began to surface of Gillis using gay and ethnic slurs. Gillis tried to defend himself, basically by saying, Hey, it’s comedy. Alas, SNL producer Lorne Michaels wasn’t impressed and fired Gillis before he could grace the hallowed SNL stage.

But grace the stage he did on Saturday night’s episode. Nobody’s quite sure why, but SNL invited Gillis not just to make an appearance, but to host the whole damn episode. And, well, he bombed. In a huge way. So says most of the press in the free world. He was offensive. He was awkwardly unfunny. I know people of a certain age like to say that Saturday Night Live hasn’t been good in many years. As a parent of teens, I watch SNL every week with them on Sundays. (11:30 p.m. is past their bedtime.) And there are still many good segments and episodes these days. But I’m here to confirm that Gillis was the worst host we’ve seen in a long, long time.

Here’s hoping Sydney Sweeney from Euphoria, White Lotus and The Handmaid’s Tale can purge us of this foul Shane Gillis stench this coming Saturday.

By the Numbers

$100 million: Amount of federal COVID recovery funds New Jersey has designated to repair and improve boardwalks in 18 Jersey Shore towns. Atlantic City alone gets a huge $20 million slice of the pie.

5: Number of riders you can now pay for with your SEPTA Key card. Before today, you could only pay for one. Slowly but surely, SEPTA is joining the 21st century.

$1: Amount the victim of an alleged robbery attempt was carrying when the alleged robber allegedly attacked them with a hatchet near 8th and Market streets around 1 a.m. Monday. Allegedly. A suspect is in custody.

And From the Win-Some Sports Desk …

The Sixers were back — finally! — from the All-Star break Thursday night, playing the Knicks in our house. Our guys got off to a slow start and were down 32-21 at the end of first, and it got worse from there: a miserable 69-46 at the break. And Nic Batum already had four fouls. Kyle Lowry marked his Sixers debut by getting whacked in the forehead and heading to the locker room to get stitches. The Sixers fought back to within 10 at the end of the third, and Nick Nurse was getting very demonstrative on the sideline. They were down to six back early in the fourth, but everything went New York’s way after that, and the Knicks won 110-96. Bricken for Chicken, though!

In Friday night’s match-up with the Cavaliers, the Sixers had no Lowry for the night due to that head wound. But hey, De’Anthony Melton was back from his slow-healing back injury! The game stayed close in the first quarter, but the Cavs went cold toward its end, giving the Sixers a 27-25 lead. Oops, no, the refs took off a Cam Payne layup for a shot violation: game tied! We pulled out to a 53-50 lead at halftime, and after the break, we pushed that to nine before the Cavs crept back. The Sixers were on top 74-70 going into the final quarter, and it stayed close the rest of the way — too close. Sixers up by three with three minutes to go: Could they hold on? They could thanks to Tyrese Maxey, who had 14 of the team’s final 16 points.

SIXERS WIN! @cryptocom pic.twitter.com/BXzUxZmHg4

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) February 24, 2024

And then there was Sunday afternoon’s bout with the Bucks, which started at an ungodly 1 p.m. Former Sixers coach and current Bucks coach Doc Rivers was in the house, natch, and he was roundly booed by his former home crowd. Look who else was here!

https://twitter.com/LaurenMRosen/status/1761813726347268159

Nick Nurse started Harris, Hield, Maxey, Batum and Reed, and the game moved fast. Damien Lillard was making us suffer, and we were down 35-21 after one. They were killing us with treys, though — they had 13 in the first half, which ended with the Bucks up 69-48 after their 10-0 run. The Sixers cut it to 11 briefly at the end of the third, and Lowry got clobbered in the head again, but we need Embiid, dammit. Final: 119-98 Bucks. Sheesh.

Is It Spring Training Yet?

You bet! The Blue Jays got three runs in the first inning of the Phils’ initial pre-season game in Clearwater on Saturday, with starter Kolby Allard getting clobbered. But the Phils bounced back with four of their own in the second, countered by four more for the Jays in the third. Whiplash! But don’t despair, because the Phils scored 10 runs in the fifth — only to see Toronto get back half that much, giving us a 14-12 lead headed into the seventh. We nipped ’em in the end, 14-13. Real pitchers’ duel. Weston Wilson, Scott Kingery and Matt Kroon all hit homers for the Phils.

What a beautiful sight pic.twitter.com/BWcS61PT9l

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 25, 2024

The boys faced the Yankees in Sunday’s game and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning, which is as far as starter Aaron Nola went. They tacked on another in the fourth on Cristian Pache’s solo homer, and that’s right where it stayed. Guess the pitching staff regrouped overnight. They’ll play the Red Sox today at 1:07.

Any Doop News?

The Union had their season opener against Chicago at Subaru Park on Saturday night, with new Sixer Cam Payne banging the drum. Goalie Andre Blake was out with an injury, and everybody’s parkas were out, because it was chilly in the stands. Oliver Semmle took his first MLS turn in goal, and the Fire struck in the 38th minute. In the second half, Daniel Gazdag notched one for us early on, but the ref took a look and waved it off, to the home crowd’s dismay. Ha — Mikael Uhre got another one at 56 minutes.

Uhre levels the score and earns the first @MLS regular season goal for the Boys in Blue!

Watch with #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV: https://t.co/9cfrTp1Gl3#PHIvCHI 1-1 | #DOOP pic.twitter.com/tN79Emrapy

— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) February 25, 2024

Julián Carranza just missed a bit later, and in the 80th, the Fire got another after Semmle couldn’t hold onto a shot. But the Union tied it again, on a tip-in by Nathan Harriel. Another goddamn video review … and again, offsides. Never fear: Gazdag came through early in the overage with a lovely header, and the Union kept the pressure on. One final corner, a last chance — and a tie game, 2-2. Exciting as hell, though. Doop!

And in College Hoops?

Another busy weekend. In the sole Thursday City Six game, Drexel’s Dragons dragged behind Hofstra but caught up to within one at the half, 33-32. Alas, Hofstra got hot and won in the end, 69-57. In Friday’s only outing, Penn dealt with Dartmouth on the road, 82-69, to break an eight-game skid. On Saturday, the Quakers were down 41-28 to Harvard at the half but stormed back to within two in the second half. They couldn’t quite get there, though: a 74-70 loss. Meantime, Villanova was hanging tight with top-ranked Connecticut in the early going but was down 31-21 at the half. They climbed back to within five, but the Huskies more than reasserted themselves. Final: 78-54.

In Sunday’s games, La Salle ran roughshod over the Rhode Island Rams, 84-61. St. Joe’s played at VCU and was winning 27-21 at the half but then hocked up nine straight points to give the Rams a 30-27 lead. The Hawks came within three points with under a minute left but couldn’t hang in there in the 73-69 loss.

As for Temple, it trailed the Wichita State Shockers 37-27 at the half in this season of Owls discontent, then fought back to tie it halfway through the second, refused to go away, tied it again with two minutes to go, tied again with 23 seconds … Overtime! The Owls crept into the lead by three thanks to Steve Settle III, then by four with 18 seconds to go with a timely rebound put-back by Shane Dezonie. And a 72-66 OT win — woo-hoo!!

Tonight: Drexel does Delaware, with a 6:30 p.m. tip.

The Flyers also played.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.