In 2007 owners of a St. Catharines, Ontario restaurant made the poor decision to continue preparing and serving food after water to the establishment had been cut off. The result: at least six people became violently ill, of which three children were hospitalized.

The owners of Yamen restaurant are appealing the court’s verdict regarding two lawsuits totaling 4.3 million in damages, reports The Standard.

Senan Daoud and Mahmoud Asaad are being sued by two families who say they were “violently ill” and continue to suffer after being fed contaminated food.

The Yaman Restaurant co-owners were in court Monday to argue they should be allowed to appeal a March 27 ruling that found them guilty of five counts each of selling food unfit for human consumption.

The cases happened at the Merritt Street restaurant in May 2007, when Asaad and Daoud continued to run the business, despite the fact its water was cut off because of a water-main break. The restaurant was shut down by the Region after several people got sick in May 2007 and reopened in August 2007 with a clean bill of health.

Meanwhile, the families of three girls in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls who were hospitalized following the outbreak have launched lawsuits… Robert and Arlene Willis, with daughter Sara Willis, are suing after eating at the restaurant on May 25, 2007…Jennifer Boehm and 10- and six-year-old daughters Brooklyn and Kassidy Hamelin, ate at the restaurant the following day and are suing, along with the girls’ father, Robert Hamelin.

The court documents say the plaintiffs became “violently ill” within a week of eating at Yaman and were in need of “extensive” medical treatment for their injuries.
Some of those conditions included cramping, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue, sleep disturbance, loss of appetite, nausea and headaches.

… [A]ll three children were admitted to local hospitals, while Kassidy was so ill, she was transferred to McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton and was hospitalized for two weeks.