Dominguez v. Lamppost Pizza and Draft Beer Maintenance Company
Marler Clark represented Steven Dominguez and his family against Draft Beer after Mr. Dominguez was served a toxic sample of beer at the Lamppost Pizza restaurant in Huntington Beach, California. Mr. Dominguez drank the sample, and suffered severe caustic injuries to the esophagus and stomach. He was hospitalized for 18 days and continued to suffer from his injuries for months after he was released.
Testing on a diluted sample of the solution swallowed by Mr. Dominguez indicated a pH reading of 14 – a pH value with an extremely high caustic alkaline reading, even more potent than oven cleaner. The sample was determined to be a mixture of potassium hydroxide and beer.
It was later determined that the line connecting the draft beer keg to the bar tap from which Mr. Dominguez’ sample was served had been cleaned the previous day with a toxic chemical cleanser. That particular line had not been flushed following its cleaning, and therefore contained a significant concentration of the toxic chemical utilized to clean out the tap line.