FRANKFORT, Ky. (Legal Newsline) - A Kentucky court has rejected a man's attempt to blame a pizza restaurant for his Hepatitis A, finding no link between his Super Bowl dinner and the illness.
The Court of Appeals on Aug. 18 found for Upton Family Inc., which operated the now-closed Mario's Pizza in Berea. The company found itself in court after Mario Gilbert claimed it must have been responsible for his Hepatitis A, as it was the only store he visited for six months.
Gilbert's stepfather picked up two pizzas from Mario's for the Super Bowl in 2019. No one else in the family became sick after eating them.
Mario's required its employees to receive the Hepatitis A vaccine during a statewide outbreak and routinely scored high on health inspections.
"Gilbert produced no evidence, other than his testimony, that Mario's was the only restaurant that prepared food he consumed around that time, which demonstrated any alleged negligently prepared or handled food from Mario's caused his Hepatitis A infection," the ruling says.
The decision affirms summary judgment for Upton in Madison County Circuit Court. The company argued the incubation period starts at a minimum of 15 days, though Gilbert's symptoms began seven days after eating the pizza.
Gilbert failed to create a genuine issue of material fact by countering that argument, the court ruled. He could've found a doctor to support his position he could have contracted Hepatitis A seven days before his symptoms began.