A lawsuit alleges that contaminated raw oysters left a retired Marine and firefighter with severe brain damage after a family meal.
Joe Belgio, 44, has remained hospitalized for more than a year after becoming critically ill following a June 30, 2025 visit to Gibsons Steakhouse in Oak Brook, according to the legal filing made on his behalf.
His fiancée, Melanie Stayer, said the family had been out celebrating together and that their daughter was five months old at the time.
Belgio’s attorneys say doctors later screened him for bacteria and identified several pathogens they associate with shellfish contamination. The lawsuit alleges the oysters exposed him to Vibrio cholerae, Enteropathogenic E. coli, and Plesiomonas shigelloides, with the lawsuit claiming the illness triggered devastating long-term complications.
Attorney Scott O’Sullivan said Belgio’s condition worsened quickly. “He ended up getting very, very ill and resulting in cardiac arrests where he lost consciousness and oxygen for at least eight minutes and was revived by this very fire department, and has been in the hospital ever since,” O’Sullivan said. Belgio went into cardiac arrest three days after eating the oysters, on July 3, 2025.
O’Sullivan said the consequences now appear permanent. “He is most likely bedridden for the rest of his life. He is extremely brain damaged, with very little cognitive capacity and will need care for the rest of his life.”
Karen Arenas, another lawyer representing Belgio, told FOX 32 Chicago that he is confined to a bed at Hines VA Hospital, is facing severe cognitive deficits and requires lifelong, around-the-clock care, adding, “We are seeking accountability,” in comments to the station. The lawsuit alleges that doctors who treated Belgio “determined to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that his illness, cardiac arrest, and resulting injuries were caused by consuming the contaminated raw oysters.”
Stayer also spoke about trying to help their daughter understand what has happened. “I just want to make the best of what’s happened, and I want my daughter to understand that her father is a fighter, in whichever form that comes.”
In a separate interview with ABC 7 Chicago, Stayer described the impact of Belgio’s injuries on their family. “He’s one of the rarest people you will ever meet in your life. He was a God-fearing man. Success to him was having a family. I want people to be aware that this could happen to anyone. This was a casual day with a casual man at a restaurant that he wanted to celebrate life with his family and life can change so quickly. This is a man who deployed. He ran into burning buildings, and you thought he was out of the line of fire, and really, he wasn’t.”
Gibsons Oak Brook has disputed the claims and says there is nothing linking the restaurant to Belgio’s condition. “There have been no other reported cases of illness. Based on the facts and our internal investigation, there is no evidence to suggest that our establishment caused his health condition. We are confident that a fair and thorough legal process will agree with this conclusion.”
The lawsuit also names Supreme Lobster and Seafood Company as a defendant.
Raw oysters carry inherent risks of bacterial contamination. Vibrio bacteria naturally occur in coastal waters worldwide and become concentrated in oysters because they are filter feeders that accumulate organisms from the surrounding water. Vibrio cholerae, one of the pathogens alleged in the case, causes cholera, an infection that leads to as many as 143,000 deaths per year around the world according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most experts recommend that oysters be thoroughly cooked to eliminate bacterial risks, as proper cooking destroys the pathogens that can cause foodborne illness.