A British establishment has been fined £100,000 (approximately $155,000) for serving a drink containing liquid nitrogen to a teenager after the explosive cocktail punctured her stomach and forced doctors to remove the organ to save her life.
According to BBC News and The Telegraph, now 20-year-old Gaby Scanlon was with a group of friends at Oscar’s Wine Bar and Bistro in Lancaster in 2012, celebrating her 18th birthday (the legal drinking age in the UK), when she was given a shot of Nitro-Jagermeister for free.
Testifying at Preston Crown Court, Scanlon said that she was assured by the bartender that the drink was safe to consume, but immediately after drinking the beverage, she said that she began to feel “agonizing pain” and had smoke billowing out of her nose and mouth. She was rushed to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, where a CT scan revealed a large perforation in her stomach.
Scanlon had to spend three weeks in the hospital and underwent surgery to have her stomach removed and her esophagus connected directly to her small intestines. She told the court that the experience had “completely changed” her life, as she now experiences spells of intense agony, is forced to avoid certain foods and no longer enjoys eating.
Establishment failed to ensure customer safety, prosecutor said
The Nitro-Jagermeister contained liquid nitrogen in order to create a cloud of smoke in the glass, and while BBC News explained that the science-inspired concoction is not illegal, physicists say that the liquid must completely evaporate before the beverage is safe for human consumption.
Scanlon testified that she received no such warning, and one of her friends claimed the bartender told her to “drink it while it’s still smoking.” Upon consuming the liquid nitrogen, internal tissues in her stomach were destroyed and the lining was perforated.
The bar pleaded guilty to one count of failing in the duty of an employer to ensure the safety of persons not in its employment, and admitted that it had failed to ensure that the cocktail was safe for human consumption. Training notes indicate that staff members had been advised to wait 10 seconds before letting customers drink the beverage, though that was called a “loose” rule.
Judge Pamela Badley said the establishment’s actions “fell very far short of standards,” and the case’s prosecutor, Barry Berlin, said that the investigation “uncovered serious systematic failings by this company… They failed to ensure the safety of its customers. They served liquid nitrogen shots in cocktails without considering any suitable risk assessment. The serious injuries suffered show a failure by the company to ensure her safety.”
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Feature Image: Joh_9343/Flickr
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