A Kentucky man with celiac disease says a meal at Olive Garden left him with “significant and permanent injuries” after he ordered gluten-free fettuccine Alfredo but was given the regular full-gluten variety instead.
In August 2024, Robert Anthony Bayton had dinner at an Olive Garden in Lexington, according to a federal negligence lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.
“When [Bayton] arrived at the Olive Garden restaurant, he informed the waitress that he has celiac disease and cannot tolerate gluten-containing food products,” the complaint states. “[Bayton] asked the waitress if gluten-free fettuccine alfredo was available, and the waitress informed Plaintiff that Olive Garden could accommodate his request.”
However, the complaint contends, the unidentified waitress “then served [Bayton] a fettuccine alfredo meal containing gluten.”
“[Bayton] consumed the fettuccine Alfredo meal that contained gluten, which caused an allergic reaction, and [he] subsequently sustained serious personal injuries,” according to the complaint, which was initially filed August 25 in Fayette County Circuit Court and removed to Lexington federal court on November 21.
In the aftermath, the complaint says Bayton experienced “pain and suffering, both physical and mental,” was unable to work for a period of time, “incur[red] necessary medical and hospital expenses,” and now faces an “increased risk of future medical complications” as a “direct and proximate result of [Olive Garden’s] negligence.”
An Olive Garden spokesperson, as well as the attorney defending the chain against Bayton’s allegations, did not respond on Wednesday to requests for comment. Bayton’s attorney, Christopher Hayden, declined to comment on the case beyond the facts laid out in the complaint.
When someone with celiac disease eats gluten – a protein present in grains such as wheat, rye and barley that gives dough a stretchy, toothsome quality – their immune system responds by attacking the small intestine, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. This can cause villous atrophy, or, damage to the villi, tiny finger-like projections that line the interior of the small intestine and help absorb nutrients, and usually leads to a variety of serious complications.
Patients with the traditional form of the autoimmune condition, known as “classical celiac disease,” tend to experience chronic diarrhea. This often shows up in the form of steatorrhea, an excess of fat in one’s feces, creating loose, greasy, foul-smelling stools, along with bloating, severe abdominal pain and unintended weight loss or growth failure in children.
Non-classical celiac disease, on the other hand, does not present with the usual symptoms of malabsorption. It can bring on any number of seemingly unrelated issues, such as chronic fatigue, anemia, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, elevated liver enzymes, vitamin deficiency, reduced bone mass, unexplained infertility, early-onset menopause, and itchy, blistered skin.
Celiac disease is hereditary, and someone with a first-degree relative that has it runs a 1-in-10 risk of developing celiac. However, according to gastroenterologist Dr. Allen Yudovich of the Henry Ford Health system, “If you don’t have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, there are no benefits to going gluten-free.”
Olive Garden’s Alfredo dishes “now come with even more Alfredo sauce,” according to the “Amazing Alfredos!” page on the Olive Garden website.
“Using simple ingredients like butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, cream, milk, salt and pepper, we prepare fresh batches of our Alfredo sauce throughout the day,” it tells prospective diners.
However, the bottom of the page warns that the Alfredo sauce itself “contains gluten.”
The chain offers a gluten-free pasta option on its menu. Still, the food at Olive Garden’s 900-plus locations is prepared in kitchens where gluten is present, and while the chain “aim[s] to accommodate the dietary needs of guests,” it informs gluten-sensitive customers that “[c]ross-contact with other food items that contain gluten is possible.”
Bayton’s complaint claims Olive Garden and the server in question “knew, or should have known… that the gluten-containing food product” he received was a health risk but “negligently and carelessly failed to correct the condition.” The alleged failure “was a substantial factor in causing [Bayton] to suffer significant and permanent injuries,” the complaint states, maintaining that Olive Garden breached its “duty… to provide a reasonably safe food product for [Bayton] to consume.”
Olive Garden’s fettuccine Alfredo contains 1,220 calories (800 of which come from fat); 89 grams of fat (the recommended intake for a normal 2,000-calorie-a-day diet is between 44g and 78g); 55 grams of saturated fat: 55 grams (one should limit themselves to no more than 20g per day, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services); and 1,210 milligrams of sodium (about half the recommended daily allowance); while delivering 27 grams protein (between 15 and 30 grams per meal is the general recommendation).
Bayton is demanding compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest from the date of his meal, to be determined by a jury, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.
Olive Garden has not yet filed a response to Bayton’s allegations.
