Man dies in taco eating contest; family sues organizers
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A man met his untimely end after participating in a taco-eating contest in California, USA, and his family has now filed a lawsuit against the organizers.
Dana Hutchings, 41, was apparently not informed about the dangers of the said eating contest, his son Marshall argued in a lawsuit filed on April 5, as per The Fresno Bee on the same day.
The father, who had never participated in such contests before, died after choking a few minutes into the competition. For his death, the son is now seeking monetary damages, the amount of which was undisclosed.
The said taco-eating contest was held in the city of Fresno before the pandemic-induced lockdown, back in August 2019, according to the report. It was organized by Fresno Sports and Events LLC, the owners of the Fresno Grizzlies, and was apparently held during their said team’s minor league baseball game.
Similar to other eating contests, the goal for participants in this amateur event is to consume the biggest amount of tacos within a given timeframe.
Marshall’s attorney, Martin Taleisnik, noted that professionals in the said sport train and take great care of their bodies to participate in a competitive level.
“But that is not always present in an amateur eating contest,” Taleisnik was quoted as saying. “The conductors of this event should have made the risks known to the competitors and taken steps to protect them.”
The attorney also pointed out that alcohol was available during the event, which added to the risks, the report said.
“Fresno Sports and Event, LCC, failed to fully inform decedent, Dana Hutchings, of every risk he was accepting when he agreed to enter the amateur taco-eating competition,” the lawsuit stated as cited by the newspaper.
“The lack of information outlining every risk to amateur eaters was omitted and Mr. Hutchings entered the competition with limited information on all the risks he was agreeing to. His assumption of risk was distorted, and therefore, he was unable to assume the risks he was taking when he agreed to enter the competition,” it added. Ian Biong /ra
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