Woman sues Fogo De Chao after allegedly contracting salmonella poisoning in 2023

A Baltimore County woman sued Fogo De Chao, alleging the Brazilian steakhouse at the Inner Harbor maintained unsanitary conditions that led her to contract salmonella poisoning after dining there in 2023.

Michele Allen says that she started to feel sick — nausea, night sweats, vomiting and other symptoms — two days after eating salmon, produce and Caesar dressing from the restaurant’s salad bar on April 8, 2023, according to her complaint, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court in July.

She called her doctor on April 13 and, as her condition deteriorated, the next night went by ambulance to Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, where she stayed for two days as doctors took samples and eventually diagnosed her with salmonella poisoning, the lawsuit alleges.

“As a result, Plaintiff has incurred medical bills as well as continued pain, discomfort, diarrhea and inconvenience to her activities which have continued to this date,” Allen’s attorneys wrote in the July 23 complaint. “She has not been discharged from her physicians.”

According to the complaint, the Maryland Department of Health learned two other people who dined at Fogo De Chao contracted salmonella around the same time as Allen, and the agency eventually initiated an “outbreak investigation.” Inspectors found an “excessive amount of rodent droppings” in areas of the restaurant, including on top of a dish machine and a storage area.

The Brazilian steakhouse voluntarily closed for two weeks following the health department investigation, the lawsuit says.

The complaint targets the restaurant, its general manager and assistant manager. The managers had served in those roles for years and, attorneys for the lawsuit allege, should have learned from a series of health department violations in 2022 stemming from the presence of rodent droppings.

“This is important because rodent populations can be reservoirs for Salmonella,” Allen’s attorneys wrote.

Court records do not list attorneys for Fogo De Chao or managers.

A spokesperson for the restaurant chain wrote in an email to the Baltimore Sun on Thursday that “the health and safety of our guests is our top priority.”

“In April 2023 we worked closely with Environmental Inspection Services and The Baltimore City Health Department for a salmonella investigation at our Baltimore location and subsequently passed an inspection by both the Health Department as well as a third-party audit for safety and sanitation,” the statement said. “We are aware of the filing and have no further information to share at this time.”

Allen’s lawsuit charges negligence and gross negligence, with her attorneys arguing that the restaurant failed to maintain “a safe eating environment,” leading to Allen and other patrons to get sick.

The complaint seeks damages in excess of $75,000.

Baltimore Sun reporter Amanda Yeager contributed to this article.