A Chicago woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Wendy’s after she says a delivered double cheeseburger left her hospitalized twice and buried under more than $93,000 in medical debt.
Roxie Ellis Douglas, 68, alleges she contracted Campylobacteriosis from a Wendy’s double cheeseburger ordered online and delivered by DoorDash to her home on Aug. 5, according to her complaint. The South Stony Island Avenue restaurant prepared the meal, which arrived in a “sealed, unopened bag,” court filings state.
Douglas claims nothing appeared wrong with the food when she ate it. By the next day, however, she had begun racking up medical expenses that would stretch across months. Court exhibits attached to the lawsuit show $93,578.24 in healthcare bills since Aug. 6, including a $2,848.50 ambulance ride to Advocate Trinity Hospital.
The bacterial infection triggered acute infectious colitis, dehydration, gastroenteritis, leukocytosis and dangerously low potassium levels, according to the complaint. Douglas spent three days at Advocate Trinity Hospital for her first stay, costing $24,434, then returned a week later for a second hospitalization lasting five days and totaling $42,857.
The medical ordeal continued into 2026. Douglas underwent a colonoscopy in January that cost nearly $13,000, the filing said. Campylobacter, the bacteria identified in her case, is a foodborne pathogen that can cause severe gastrointestinal illness and poses particular danger to people 65 and older.
Douglas alleges the delivered burger was “contaminated with Campylobacter and other illnesses producing bacteria” when it left the restaurant’s control. Her lawsuit claims the food was “unreasonably dangerous and in a defective condition” upon arrival and “not fit for the uses and purposes intended — human consumption.”
In her complaint, Douglas said she trusted Wendy’s to safely prepare her food and never expected her meal to contain a “deadly pathogen.” She accuses the fast food chain of “failure to use safe and proper inspection practices and failure to eliminate the presence of Campylobacter bacteria and other illness producing bacteria,” alongside “failure to provide adequate warning to consumers or users of the dangers of hazards inherent in the consumption of double cheeseburger meal.”
Douglas initially filed her case in state court on July 30 before it was removed to Chicago federal court on Aug. 20. The lawsuit names the Dublin, Ohio-based fast food giant as defendant. DoorDash, which handled the delivery, is not named as a defendant in the complaint.
The case adds to a string of food safety legal actions against Wendy’s in recent years. In 2022, an 11-year-old Michigan girl developed kidney failure and diabetes after eating a “Biggie Bag” meal from a Jenison Wendy’s, according to a separate lawsuit. That same year, Wendy’s faced an E. Coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce served at its restaurants in multiple states, prompting the company to pull the ingredient from menus in affected regions.
In the viral moment that sparked widespread attention to fast food safety, Wendy’s has faced repeated scrutiny over its supply chain and kitchen protocols. The 2022 E. Coli outbreak sickened dozens across Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, with the CDC investigating lettuce as the likely contamination source. The company has since emphasized its food safety measures, though critics have questioned whether corporate oversight matches public commitments.
Douglas’s case stands out for its delivery component, raising questions about accountability when third-party services transport sealed meals from restaurant to consumer. Her lawsuit does not allege tampering during transit, instead pointing to conditions at the Wendy’s location itself.
Wendy’s has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.