A 17-year-old boy in Australia died after eating a burrito bowl he ordered on a delivery app. Now, his family is seeking answers.
On May 27, 2021, James Tsindos ordered a burrito bowl from Deliveroo – a food delivery app – after visiting a COVID-19 testing center with his dad.
After experiencing flare-ups while eating the bowl, Tsindos’ dad called an ambulance to their home while the teen called the restaurant. The 17-year-old was allergic to nuts and would usually check the ingredients in his food. However, he didn’t on this occasion.
Tsindos had suffered anaphylaxis after eating the bowl. The restaurant confirmed the burrito bowl contained a vegan cheese sauce made from cashews.
Paramedics administered two doses of adrenaline five minutes apart which eased some of James’ symptoms. When he arrived at hospital he was transferred to Holmesglen Private Hospital as a precaution and when he arrived he told paramedics that he was “wheezy.”
Paramedic Jonathon Hammond told the Coroner’s Court in Melbourne that John had been comfortable during the ambulance ride. He was placed on oxygen therapy and given more adrenaline and saline but he started having trouble breathing.
As time progressed, Tsindos’ condition worsened and he became unresponsive before entering cardiac arrest with a rash appearing on his body, 7News reported. Medics tried to resuscitate him for 40 minutes but he had suffered a brain injury and never recovered.
His life support was turned off on June 1. The inquest is now investigating whether James’ death was preventable – examining food delivery app systems for allergies, as well as whether the medical care provided to Tsindos was appropriate.
