Liquid nitrogen cocktail: Wine bar fined £100k after teenager loses stomach

 

Preston Crown Court hears Gaby Scanlon, now 20, was left close to death at Oscar’s Wine Bar and Bistro in Lancaster

                                   

Source: The Telegraph

17 Sep 2015

 

A wine bar has been fined £100,000 after a teenager needed her stomach removing after drinking a smoking liquid nitrogen cocktail handed to her for free.

 

Gaby Scanlon, now 20, had been with friends at the Oscar’s Wine Bar and Bistro in Lancaster when she was given the Nitro-Jagermeister shot in celebration of her 18th birthday.

 

But upon drinking the normally £3.95 drink she described feeling “agonising pain” and was forced to loosen her clothing as smoke billowed from her mouth and nose.

 

“The company and the family are truly sorry. At no time did they see anything warning them of the risks of ingestion.”

 

Preston Crown Court heard that she was left close to death after experiencing “an explosion” in her stomach four seconds after it was poured for her.

 

She said: “I turned to the man and asked if it was okay to drink, he said ‘yes’. Smoke was coming from my nose and mouth. Straight away I knew something was not right.

 

“My stomach expanded. The manager said nothing about waiting for it to die down.”

 

Miss Scanlon from Heysham, Lancashire, was taken to the Lancaster Royal Infirmary for surgery to remove her stomach and her small bowel connected with her oesophagus to save her life.

 

Oscar’s Wine Bar and Bistro, which had only opened five months prior to the incident on October 4 2012, pleaded guilty to one count of failing in the duty of an employer to ensure the safety of persons not in its employment, admitting it failed to ensure the shot cocktail was safe for consumption.

 

No risk assessment had been carried out to the dangers.

 

In passing sentence Judge Pamela Badley said that “failings fell very far short of standards”.

 

The bar had sold a range of cocktails using liquid nitrogen in order to create a smoking effect after director Andrew Dunn saw similar drinks in the Berkeley Hotel in London.

 

He was said to have found them “alluring and intrigued by the dramatic effect”.

 

But a senior health and safety officer Peter Lord, who visited the bar in May 2012 before the incident said he had concerns about the drinks and sent a letter with guidance on liquid nitrogen usage, which was met with no response.

 

Oscar’s Wine Bar, Lancashire where Gaby Scanlon was given a liquid nitrogen cocktail on her 18th birthdayOscar’s Wine Bar, Lancashire where Gaby Scanlon was given a liquid nitrogen cocktail on her 18th birthday  Photo: Ross Parry

 

The court heard that Miss Scanlon and her friends had been poured four of the drinks before she was told “the birthday girl could have a free shot”.

 

A verdict of not guilty was accepted by the Crown against bar employee Matthew Harding, who denied failing in his duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of others at work.

 

Miss Scanlon had not been given any advice, with one friend saying that the barman had said “drink it while it’s still smoking”.

 

“The investigation in this case uncovered serious systematic failings by this company and director.”

 

Prosecutor Barry Berlin said: “Immediately on consuming the drink she was taken violently ill, retching and vomiting and smoking from her nose and mouth. The liquid nitrogen itself is a dangerous product.”

 

Upon consuming the liquid nitrogen which is used for freezing warts, internal tissue was killed and the lining of her stomach was perforated.

 

The court was told that three years on, Miss Scanlon still suffers from pains.

 

Mr Berlin added: “The investigation in this case uncovered serious systematic failings by this company and director.”

 

Training notes were said to have been “loose” with staff told to wait 10 seconds until the liquid nitrogen had boiled off before consumption.

 

But the rule – devised by the family-run company who also run BR Guest Limited and Oscar’s Travel and Leisure – was said to have been an “arbitrary figure” .

 

Mr Berlin added: “The Crown say the company is culpable for the injuries. They failed to ensure the safety of its customers. They served liquid nitrogen shots in cocktails without considering any suitable risk assessment. The serious injuries suffered show a failure by the company to ensure her safety.

 

“They knew it was dangerous and they didn’t properly police it.”

 

Director Andrew Dunn, of Old Earswick, York, pleaded not guilty to being part of a corporate employer which failed in its duty to ensure the safety of persons not in its employment.

 

The prosecution offered no evidence against him after a payment of £20,000 towards court costs was made.

 

In mitigation, Kevin McLoughlin said that the family had been left “mortified” and apologised to Miss Scanlon and her family for the “errors and misjudgments that were made”.

 

He added: “The company and the family are truly sorry. At no time did they see anything warning them of the risks of ingestion. The essence of this calamity was the ignorance on the part of the company.”