What is going to happen to Ben Siegel's case
He will become liable, the store as well. the extent to Bens liability will depend on what kind of liability insurance he had at the time of the incident. I dont know if Ben is incorporated or just a sole owner with his wife.
Only one person got sick from all reports , he collapsed and died. Which would leave me believe that he was not medically fit to participate . More than likely the toxocolgy report will show some kind of allergic reaction of sorts after digesting the roaches... Or some poison associated with the one of the insects... We will have to wait and see.
Without seeing the waiver that Ben mentioned on TV more than likely no mention of a warning about a possible danger if they were unfit to participate ( medically fit )
the mere fact that only one death occurred points to several unknown factors. Maybe he ate a poisoned roach, maybe he ate roaches no one else ate, maybe he had a reaction from earlier medications, maybe he had a weak heart... The toxocology report may not be as conclusive as we would like it to be, , but Ben will become liabile because death did occur, secondly, this roach contest was nothing more than a circus arena . A method for advertising, and not very well though out.
This poor soul who died probably had no idea of the severity of the consequences had he realized the potential dangers from infested roaches themselves or bodily reactions if in fact it turns out that the M.E. report leans in that direction.. The liability will be enormous. I serioulsly doubt that Ben can withstand a settlement on a wrongful death suit.
All of the above relate to a safety issue that I personally believe was never brought to the attention of anyone including those eating the insects. See the video. The crowd was egging the participants to eat as much as they could within a given period of time... When you see Archibald after the contest, you get the feeling that something already was wrong.
In purusing a variety of articles I one in particular, caught my eye. Here is a synopsis of the article:
If this turns out to be a chemical poisoning case, the fact that Archbold signed a waiver will be meaningless. I am sure he never waived the danger of consuming poison.
If this is an allergic reaction case, ultimate liability may hinge on the extent of the warnings on the waiver. Did the reptile shop warn that eating roaches and worms could cause a severe allergic reaction that may result in death?
Even so, they still were speaking out of both sides of their mouths. It is disengenuous to host a "captive bred, sterile bug" eating contest while also warning people that they may die.
With regard to the manager. I dont know how he fits into the scheme of tihings, but I do know that he will have to have some representation during a depositon hearing to determine the actual movement of the roaches and other insects used in the contest, etc...
Why bring this up ? I am in the food end of the business. This is not good for the industry as we have enough problems without these circus added attractions that does no good for anyone... My guess is that in the end, Ben, and his wife or the business or both more than likely will go bankrupt to avoid seizures of there monies whether its in his home asset, cars, bank accounts, etc... He needs protection. In this case because of the amount of the suit, it will become federal... This is only my opinion on this matter. But I think more than likely it will turn out this way unless Ben has some great liability to cover assets.
