$2.5 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against El Rodeo Restaurant in Bend

Arthur Charles Sutton died last summer from salmonella

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A lawsuit filed this week in Deschutes County Circuit Court claims 70-year-old Arthur Charles Sutton died from tainted food served by El Rodeo Restaurant in Bend.

The $2.5 million wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of Sutton's widow claims Sutton died a month after eating twice at El Rodeo last summer.

After finishing his meal both times, the lawsuit says Sutton complained of "constant dull aching pain in his abdomen." Sutton made two trips to the St. Charles emergency room in late July, where he was treated for kidney failure, nausea, and vomiting.

Two weeks later, Sutton died. The cause of death was determined to be from salmonella poisoning, the lawsuit states.

David Wallace, the attorney for Sutton's widow, says a liability case like this comes down to whether or not the alleged tainted chicken was from and manufactured by El Rodeo.

“Oftentimes, we forget that restaurants are in a superior position to sort of control what we eat and what’s going in our body,” Wallace said.

Wallace, who is handling his first wrongful death lawsuit in Deschutes County, compared this case to the recent Chipotle lawsuit, where the restaurant chain paid $25 million in a similar food-borne illness case. 

"It’s a good way to tell companies that you need to be more careful with your food -- if you send this out, people could die,” Wallace said.

El Rodeo management could not be reached for comment.