Chi Ibe

Kentucky Fried Chicken, the fast food giant who recently opened outlets in Nigeria was on Friday ordered to pay £5.1 million to an Australian girl who experienced severe brain damage and was paralysed after eating a chicken wrap. 

In 2005, after Monika Samaan ate a “Twister” wrap containing chicken and salad from a Sydney KFC outlet, she suffered salmonella encephalopathy — a brain injury linked to food poisoning that also left her with a blood infection and septic shock.  

Family’s lawyer, George Vlahakis said they were relieved the battle was over. “Monika’s severe brain damage and severe disability has already exhausted the very limited resources of the family. Monika is now a big girl and they are finding it increasingly difficult to lift her and to look after her basic needs as well as look after Monika’s younger siblings,” he said. 

Other family members also fell ill after eating the same meal but KFC said it believed the evidence showed it did not cause the tragedy and indicated it will appeal the decision. “We feel deeply for Monika and the Samaan family however we also have a responsibility to defend KFC’s reputation as a provider of safe, high quality food,” KFC Australia’s chief corporate affairs officer Sally Glover said. 

At the trial, Justice Stephen Rothman explained that the chicken became contaminated “because of the failure of one or more employees of KFC” to follow proper preparation rules, which he described as “negligent”. 

Courtesy agency reports.