Man who died after eating pizza ‘didn’t tell Deliveroo about his nut allergy’
A computer programmer who died after eating a slice of a pizza he ordered through Deliveroo did not contact the restaurant to tell them he had a peanut allergy, an inquest heard.
James Atkinson, 23, and two flatmates had ordered three chicken tikka masala pizzas, chips and assorted Indian dishes from Dadyal restaurant in Newcastle in July 2020.
Around an hour after eating a few bites of the pizza James died in hospital from anaphylaxis due to peanut ingestion, the inquest at Newcastle Civic Centre heard.
The popular Newcastle University graduate, originally from Leeds, had used Google to see if the curried pizza was likely to contain nuts before ordering.
Luke Isley, 26, and Robert Raistrick, 27, gave evidence about what happened in their shared house the evening they placed the order.
Mr Isley, who works in IT, told the coroner he did not think James mentioned his peanut allergy when he placed the order on the app and did not contact the restaurant directly.
But just 30 seconds after starting on his first slice of the chicken tikka masala pizza, James raised concerns about his allergy.
Mr Isley said: ‘He said something about he was not sure about the pizza. At first Ithought maybe he didn’t like it.
‘When he first mentioned about nuts, that’s when me and Rob started to panic.’
Mr Raistrick, a software developer, recalled how James quickly fell ill after starting on the pizza, and said: ‘He was concerned that his lips were tingling so he was aware quite soon.”
The two flatmates began to look for their friend’s Epipen, having seen one in a previous house they shared, but could not find it.
An ambulance, which James called himself, arrived swiftly and he was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary where efforts were made to resuscitate him, but he died around 40 minutes after arrival.
Mr Raistrick said James could not direct them to where his Epipen was, saying: ‘I don’t believe he knew where it was either – I cannot be certain.’
Coroner Karen Dilks asked Mr Isley if there had been any discussion about the type of food the friends would order and whether it was suitable for James.
Mr Isley said: ‘When we were looking at menu options, James had mentioned about whether the type of pizza was likely to have nuts in it.
‘James used his computer to see if that type of curry does have nuts in it.’
Mrs Dilks asked if Mr Isley had seen any warning on the Deliveroo app to contact the restaurant directly if someone had a query about allergens.
He replied: ‘There might have been but I didn’t see them if there were.’
The inquest continues.
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