Winnipeg Woman Sues Tim Hortons After Allergic Reaction That Almost Stopped Her Heart

Gabrielle Lien Ho, a Winnipeg woman, sued Tim Hortons located at Kildonan Place mall, last week for her severe allergic reaction after staff allegedly added cream instead of almond milk to her tea, which almost stopped her heart.

Ho also filed a lawsuit against Restaurant Brands International, the company that owns Tim Hortons, and the operator of the franchised Tim Hortons in Winnipeg that Ho visited.

Winnipeg Woman Sues Tim Hortons

(Photo : STR/AFP via Getty Images)
A man walks past Canadian coffee-and-donut shop Tim Hortons in Shanghai on February 27, 2019. - Tim Hortons opened it's first store in China on February 26. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT

On the morning of June 9, Ho ordered tea using the Tim Hortons mobile application, and she requested to replace the dairy option with almond milk. Ho claimed that there was no further information on the app to add special instructions, including a warning of an allergy.

Ho said she picked up her tea before going to work at a clothing store in the same mall. The lawsuit said that after taking just one sip of her tea, the plaintiff, who has a diagnosed milk protein allergy, immediately began suffering from an allergic reaction.

Ho called her mother to help her inject an EpiPen. After injecting, a co-worker drove her to the nearest hospital. Before Ho could arrive at the hospital, she was in and out of consciousness and could not enter the hospital on her own.

Ho sued Tim Hortons at the Manitoba Court of King's Bench on November 1 for pain and suffering, emotional distress, past and future loss of income, and future costs of care, as well as a trust on behalf of her mother, who took off work to care for Ho.

Furthermore, according to her medical results, Ho developed an acute, severe headache, vision loss, and a burning sensation, which caused weakness on her left side. The MRI showed that her brain suffered from a lack of oxygen.

On June 29, Ho was transferred to a rehabilitation center to recover from her brain injury. Ho lost her independence and stayed at her mother's home.

Furthermore, the lawsuit said that Ho continued to live with fatigue, tremors, and balance issues, which hindered her from performing daily activities.

According to the statement of claim, the defendants have failed to properly train employees on handling drink requests that specify modifications.

The lawsuit stated that Tim Hortons had also failed to guide Ho on the risks of ordering through the application, and staff at the location could not correctly check the order.

Jason Harvey, Ho's lawyer, suggested that Tim Hortons should improve their application so there would be no future incidents like what happened to Ho.

"Where an online application sells a product meant to be ingested, it should be expected that it provides an opportunity for consumers to advise of any allergy concerns in order to ensure the safety of all consumers," he said in an email.

Tim Horton's Response

On Tuesday, Tim Hortons sent an email saying they still cannot comment on the case as it's before the courts. However, the company assured customers that they take allergies seriously.

The company told the customers that Tim Hortons may not be a 100-percent allergen-free environment, but they provide preventative measures to reduce the risk for customers with allergies.