Bad Oysters Killed Dad, Woman Says,|and Then Her Mother Died of Grief

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (CN) - A woman claims her father died of food poisoning from bad oysters, and then her mother died of a broken heart.

Patricia Miner says her parents, James and Doris Householder, both died after buying oysters from Coastal Connections Seafood Market in Knoxville.

She says her father bought the oysters on Sept. 20, 2008 and was hospitalized in extreme pain 2 days later. The Methodist Medical Center "determined he contracted vibrio from consumption of oysters," according to the complaint in Knox County Court.

Vibrio is a gram-negative bacteria, one of whose forms causes cholera. Symptoms of vibrio food poisoning are similar to symptoms of cholera. It flourishes in warm water, which is why people traditionally were warned not to eat oysters in months that did not have an R in them: May through August.

Miner's complaint does not state when her father died. But it says that "As a result of her husband's death, Doris Householder began to gradually, visibly deteriorate and had to endure a negligent and reckless inducement of emotional distress which ultimately resulted in her death, approximately just under one (1) month after witnessing her husband's horrific hospital stay and his ultimate death."

Miner seeks damages for herself and her sister, for wrongful death, her parents' suffering and her own, economic damages and loss of consortium. The sisters are represented by James Scott, with Pemberton & Scott.

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