A police officer and his family have been awarded $40,000 (£20,000) after suing a restaurant that had served them food tainted by an employee's spit and urine. A jury in Omaha, Nebraska, ruled in favour of Keith Andrew, a police officer in the small town of Sidney in the west of the state.
The court heard that his two sons, then aged four and seven, became sick from the food they ate at a franchise of the Kentucky Fried Chicken/Taco Bell chain in October 2005.
The younger boy became violently ill with gastroenteritis and dehydration, vomited for hours and was forced to spend time in a hospital, the family's lawsuit said.
The lawsuit named the restaurant's owner, Mid Plains Food and Lodging, which the jury found negligent.
Andy Snyder, the family's lawyer, said of the company: "I'd advise them to get a better class of employees."
A KFC spokesman said the company is committed to the highest levels of food safety.
"Our franchisee does not agree with the court's verdict, and they are looking at their legal options," he said.
The lawsuit claimed that workers who saw a fellow employee taint the family's food reported it to management, but the managers did not inform the diners.
The suit also alleged that Mr Andrew, his wife and their children were victims of an employee scheme that targeted police officers.
"Employees maintained 'special servings' of food reserved for ... officers," the lawsuit said. "The 'special servings' had been urinated in or spit in by KFC/Taco Bell employees."
Casey Diedrich, the member of staff accused of urinating and spitting in the Andrew family's food, pleaded guilty last year to violating the Nebraska Pure Food Act and was fined $100 (£50).
A company spokesman said last year that Diedrich eventually was fired for missing work but not for any of the incidents the lawsuit cited.
