Kroger

This complaint is made against a Kroger Supermarket located on 41941 Garfield Rd, in Clinton Twp., MI 48038; Ph#[protected]. What follows is a description of events that happened beginning and subsequent to April 16th, 2014 (including the early morning of April 17) and pertain to a case of food poisoning. This document was also submitted to the Department of Agriculture over the internet around August 12, 2014. I bought a Crunchy Shrimp Roll (sushi roll) from a Kroger Supermarket [located on 41941 Garfield Rd, in Charter Twp of Clinton, MI 48038; Ph#[protected]] on the night of April 16, 2014, at around 6:50pm. Immediately after returning to my apartment at around 7pm (and I live approx. 3min. away from the store at Lakeside Village Apartments), I unpacked the food I had purchased, ate about half the sushi roll (or three individual pieces), and then put the rest into my refrigerator. I also had a turkey sandwich. At around 9:30pm that night, I started to experience stomach cramps that grew progressively worse. I’m a veteran that receives medical care through the VA System, so by around 10:15pm. I called the Detroit VA Hospital and asked an ER Nurse whether I should drive down to their Emergency Dept. When I described my symptoms, I asked if it could possibly be food poisoning (because I've never had food poisoning before and have no known food allergies). She said maybe and that I should come to the ER because they could provide treatment for it. I then tried to drive myself to the Detroit VA Hospital (by around 11pm or so), but couldn't make it all the way there (the cramps were much too intense for me to keep driving). So I pulled over at a hotel on Little Mack and called for an ambulance. A Roseville Fire Dept. Ambulance picked me up and took me to St. John Macomb/Oakland Hospital. I told the treating physician that I had eaten some sushi, and that it made me sick (the only other food I consumed that night was a turkey sandwich; the turkey, bread, and mayo were all food items that I had eaten from prior to that night and also after that night with no resulting illness). The symptoms I continued with at the hospital were extreme stomach cramps and vomiting. The doctor acknowledged that the sushi could very well have been the source of my problem, but only notated 'abdominal pain' as the diagnosis. I was later told by personnel at Emergency Department Physicians, P.C. that the doctor would have had to test the food in question--the sushi--in order to give a diagnosis of food poisoning related to it. I never had the food tested, but instead the morning of April 17, 2014, I called the Kroger store where I had purchased the sushi, and told them that I had gotten food poisoning from it. They told me to bring the uneaten portion back to their store and that they would consult with me as to what further steps should be taken. I followed their instructions, brought the remainder of the sushi roll back to their store and met with a manager. He took the food from me, and filled out paperwork he said was needed for their upper management. I informed him that I hoped my medical bills for the ER visit would be reimbursed, and he assured me the owners of the sushi bar would take care of me in that regard. Around April 21, 2014 I received a letter from Sedgwick Claims Management Services (Kroger's insurance company) and in it they stated that "the product in question is not manufactured by Kroger and was not shown to expired at the time of purchase, therefore we have turned this matter over to the applicable third party." They then listed Advanced Fresh Concept c/o Eddie (no last name written) as the person I should contact for any redress. After trying to obtain some sort of payment arrangement from Eddie for my medical bills, he eventually declined to give me any money. So according to the information I was given by Sedgwick, I assumed he was the correct person to deal with regarding the matter. Well after about a month of trying to negotiate with Eddie, Kroger finally directed me to the upper management (or Food Safety Division) of Advanced Fresh Concept (AFC)--or the entity I should have been initially referred to, not Eddie. And AFC put me in touch with Liberty Mutual, or their insurance company. However ultimately, Liberty Mutual denied my claim because there was no substantiating evidence linking my illness the night of April 16, 2014 to their insured's product. Again, I never had the food tested. Kroger management made the sushi available to the sushi bar owner/manager, or Eddie, but he never retrieved it. Also, Kroger's management team didn't have the food tested either, although they did keep offering reassurances that my medical bills would be appropriately handled by the company who rented their sushi bar. And eventually, Kroger unfortunately threw out the remaining sushi. I feel the conduct of Kroger's management team, both lower and upper, was not very responsible in dealing with this matter. The VA ended up paying for approximately half my medical bill--which in total came to about $2, 450.00. I trusted Kroger management to help me obtain a proper financial resolution, and it never occurred to me that the portion of uneaten sushi product which I had in my possession should have been tested as a part of any formal insurance claim. Kroger management never brought that fact to my attention and more importantly, they also neglected to have the food tested themselves. Sincerely, Lori Orlando 15830 Lakeside Village Dr. Apt. 204 Clinton Twp., Mi. [protected]