A 10-year-old Nigerian, Malik Lawal’s death after eating McDonald’s Peri Peri chicken is making the news in UK media following an inquest on Wednesday into the sad incident that happened in Dublin on October 7 2016.
Read Also: Young Nigerian stabbed to death in London
Malik’s mother, Rukawat Lawal, had relocated to Ireland with his two siblings in 2006 seeking political asylum during which they went through difficult times.
It was in the throes that Malik died after eating the Peri Peri chicken wrap at the Ilac Centre restaurant in Dublin on October 7 2016 bought by his mother, the inquest, according to multiple UK media reports heard on Wednesday.
The distraught mother told Dublin Coroner’s Court that deceased was allergic to milk, fish, eggs and nuts, but had never had any problems eating hamburgers or nuggets from the fast food chain.
She had taken all three to a barber shop to get a haircut that day, before leaving her two sons and going to McDonald’s to get some dinner with her daughter.
The mother-of-three ordered hamburgers, chicken nuggets and a Peri Peri wrap for her children, the inquest heard.
She said: ‘We were homeless, with nobody helping us, we were on our own and I was looking for a way to get out of emergency accommodation. I was looking for a way to keep the children happy.
‘Sometimes I felt so bad for him, so sad for him, that when he asked for something I had to give it to him.’
When Maleek and his brother arrived they tucked into their meal, but he started to complain he was in pain just 10 minutes later.
He went into the toilet and said ‘Mam I’m feeling weak, I can’t walk’. His face and lips swelled up, at which point his mother took him back to the barber shop screaming for help.
The Dublin Fire Brigade arrived at 5.50pm to find Maleek not breathing.
He was rushed to Temple Street Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7pm.
A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as anaphylactic shock. Tests found there was milk in the chicken wrap, which caused the allergic reaction.
Pediatric allergy specialist at Temple Street,Dr Aideen Byrne told the inquest a skin test in March 2016 showed the boy’s allergies were still present and she advised his mother make sure he continued to avoid milk, fish and eggs.
Ms Lawal was given auto-injectors to carry with her in case of anaphylaxis.
The inquest was also told she made no queries about the allergens in the McDonald’s food she ordered.
Returning a verdict of misadventure, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane issued a recommendation to parents of children with allergies to consult lists provided by restaurants detailing ingredients of meals provided.
‘The recommendation is that parents should consult such lists prior to ingestion and to reinforce the importance of carrying an auto-injector in cases of food allergy,’ she said.
Source: Daily Mail
