Disney lawsuit: Husband of late doctor wants her last meal tested

The widower of a Carle Place physician has asked a Florida court to mandate the testing of leftovers of the meal eaten by his wife shortly before she died of a fatal allergic reaction after dining at Raglan Road, a Disney Springs restaurant, last year, according to court filings in his wrongful death lawsuit.

Attorneys for Plainview resident Jeffrey Piccolo, who sued Walt Disney Parks & Resorts in February, filed a Nov. 15 motion in District Court in Orange County, Florida, seeking to have the remains of the meal eaten by Dr. Kanokporn Tangsuan, 42, tested for nut and dairy allergens. 

"Plaintiff is in possession of a sample of the food eaten by Mrs. Tangsuan, which was taken as leftovers before it became known that the food Mrs. Tangsuan consumed contained allergens," the filing states. "Although it is unknown how much food is in the sample or whether it is enough to be tested, it is in the best interest of the parties to attempt to have the food sample tested for allergens. The food has been kept frozen in the same condition as it was when taken from Raglan Road on October 05, 2023."

Piccolo's lawyers said they've attempted to work with attorneys for the defendants to develop a protocol for testing the food, but there's been no agreement.

"Therefore, court intervention is required," the filing states.

Piccolo attorney Brian Denney said he's "looking forward to conducting discovery and getting to the bottom of what happened here so we can get justice for Jeff and his departed wife."

Attorneys for Disney and Raglan Road did not respond to requests for comment.

Martin Bucknavage, head of Penn State University's Industrial Food Safety and Quality Team, said the sample should still be viable for testing both forms of allergens.

"Freezing will not impact the ability to detect peanut allergen, so peanut will still be found in frozen food after 13 months of frozen storage," Bucknavage said. "Provided a proper testing methodology is used, there should be no issues."

According to the lawsuit, on repeated occasions before ordering, Tangsuan informed the Raglan Road servers of her peanut and dairy allergies and the staff "unequivocally assured them that the food would be allergen free." Tangsuan ordered a broccoli and corn fritter, scallops, onion rings and vegan shepherd's pie, the family said.

When the server returned with Tangsuan's food, some items did not have allergen free flags in them, and the couple questioned the server, who again guaranteed the food was allergen free, the suit states.

Tangsuan began having severe difficulty breathing shortly after dinner while shopping at Planet Hollywood and self-administered an EpiPen, the suit states. She later died at a hospital.

A medical examiner attributed her death to anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nuts in her system, according to suit.

Piccolo is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 pursuant to Florida’s wrongful death act, for mental pain and suffering, loss of income and companionship, and medical and funeral expenses.

Tangsuan was a family medicine specialist with NYU Langone's Carle Place office, with expertise in treating sleep apnea, chronic diabetes and high blood pressure.

In August, Disney asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, citing legal language agreed to years earlier when Piccolo signed up for a one-month trial of the Disney+ streaming service that requires users to arbitrate all disputes with the company.

Weeks later, facing a flood of negative media attention following Newsday's story, Disney abandoned its legal strategy of trying to force the case to arbitration, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.