Customer had operation to remove wire in her throat after eating panini

A local cafe has been cleared of any wrong doing even though a woman needed an operation after eating a piece of wire in a panini.

Thirty-four-year old Catherine Willans had eaten at the Putney branch of Caffè Nero in August 2015, and after three days of feeling unwell had gone to hospital. A three hour operation removed a piece of wire from an 'unauthorised' wire brush that had lodged in her throat.


image @GoogleEarth

In the three day trial, a number of staff testified that they use the brush although they knew it was against procedure because they thought it was 'more efficient'.

The court heard from the prosecution:
"It is a matter of common experience staff don’t always do what you want them to do, staff don’t always follow instructions they are given. Employers are expected to think in advance about how and why staff might deviate from procedures set out."

In court District Judge James Henderson said that it was clear the chain took reasonable precautions and acted with 'due diligence'. According to the Daily Mail the judge said: "It is easy to think of other steps that might have been taken, but it seems clear that this was indeed indoctrinated into employees during various stages of their training."

A spokesperson for Caffè Nero said that what happened was regrettable but not the responsibility of Caffè Nero, that the staff had acted against their training.

Both Ms Willans and Wandsworth Council, who took the case to court, are disappointed by the courts findings. According to the Daily Mail a spokesperson for the council said:
"At the end of the day an innocent Caffè Nero customer suffered a very serious injury that required surgery under general anaesthetic to put right. We felt this incident exposed serious shortcomings in the company’s procedures which is why we brought the case to court, but ultimately we must accept the judge’s verdict."

April 1, 2016