A Chicago woman is suing Wendy’s after claiming a double cheeseburger left her seriously ill, hospitalized and facing nearly $100,000 in medical bills.
Roxie Ellis Douglas, 68, says she developed a severe gastrointestinal infection after eating a Wendy’s meal she ordered last year from a restaurant on South Stony Island Avenue in Chicago.
According to a federal lawsuit reviewed by The Independent, Douglas ordered a double cheeseburger and baked potato on Aug. 5, 2025.
The food was delivered to her home in what the lawsuit describes as a sealed and unopened DoorDash bag.
Douglas claims the meal was contaminated with Campylobacter and other illness-causing bacteria before it left Wendy’s control.
Campylobacter is a bacteria commonly linked to raw or undercooked poultry and cross-contamination.
The CDC says the infection can be especially dangerous for people 65 and older.
Douglas claims the illness led to campylobacteriosis as well as acute infectious colitis, gastroenteritis, dehydration, leukocytosis and dangerously low potassium levels caused by severe diarrhea.
Her lawsuit says she trusted that the food had been properly prepared and was safe to eat.
Instead, the complaint alleges the meal was “not fit” for human consumption.
Medical records filed with the case show Douglas has accumulated $93,578.24 in healthcare expenses since Aug. 6, 2025 — the day after she ate the meal.
Those bills reportedly include more than $2,800 for ambulance transportation, roughly $24,000 for a three-day hospital stay and nearly $43,000 for another five-day hospitalization about a week later.
She also reportedly underwent a colonoscopy in January 2026 that cost nearly $13,000.
Douglas’s lawsuit accuses Wendy’s of failing to properly maintain sanitary kitchen conditions and failing to ensure ingredients and food-preparation materials were safe and clean.
The complaint also alleges the company failed to adequately warn customers about possible hazards.
The case was initially filed in state court on July 30 and was moved to federal court in Chicago on Aug. 20.
Douglas is bringing claims for strict product liability, negligence and breach of warranty of wholesomeness.
Wendy’s had not filed a formal response to the allegations at the time of the report and did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
On its corporate website, Wendy’s says food safety is “foundational” to its business and that it uses a preventive approach designed to stop problems before they happen.
The company also says suppliers undergo regular food-safety testing and audits.
Wendy’s says it has sourced 100% of its beef from Beef Quality Assurance-certified sources since 2018.
The chain has faced foodborne illness outbreaks in the past.
In 2022, more than 100 people across six states were infected with E. coli after eating at Wendy’s restaurants, according to the CDC.
Earlier outbreaks were also linked to individual Wendy’s locations in Oregon in 2000 and Utah in 2006.
Douglas’s lawsuit comes as foodborne illness remains a major concern nationwide.
A separate cyclosporiasis outbreak has reportedly sickened thousands of people across dozens of states and has been linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce.
Douglas’s allegations against Wendy’s have not yet been proven in court, and the case remains pending.
