Over a year after20-year-old Sacred Heart University studentCaitlin Nelson died from choking in a charity pancake-eating contest on campus, her family is suing the school for her alleged wrongful death.
Rosanne Nelson filed a lawsuitagainst Sacred Heart University on Monday inSuperior Court in Bridgeport, Connecticutover the death of her daughter.
It also alleges that the university did not consider alternative foods like ice cream or whipped cream for the contest — which, unlike pancakes, don’t turn into a “thick glob of paste” when they come into contact with saliva.
“Caitlin’s family is bringing this case to expose the dangers associated with amateur eating contests and to help prevent other families from having to endure this type of preventable tragedy,” the family’s attorney, Katie Mesner-Hage, said in a statement to PEOPLE. “These contests are significantly more dangerous than people realize and it’s critically important for the public — especially educational institutions — to understand that certain foods are safer than others and a modicum of forethought can literally save lives.”
Her family is seeking damages in excess of $15,000.
Representatives for Sacred Heart told PEOPLE that the Catholic university is “unable to comment on ongoing litigation.”
As PEOPLE reported last April, Caitlin was minutes into a pancake eating contest on March 30 when she began to choke and became “unresponsive.”
Police arrived at the event, as part of the university’s annual Greek Week celebration, and found her “not breathing” with “pancakes almost to her teeth” and the “glob of pancake past in her airway.”
“The lack of oxygen for that extended period of time caused irreversible damage, making it not survivable,” Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara told PEOPLE at the time.
“There wasn’t anyone more selfless than her. She always had a smile, always there for the kids no matter what you asked of her she would do it and she did it with such grace and such love,” close friend Stephanie Cinque previously told PEOPLE. “She was a beautiful human being.”
source: people.com
