Family Files $1M Lawsuit After School Allegedly Served Pretzels Coated with Oven Cleaner to More Than 50 6th Graders
A family filed a nearly $1 million lawsuit after an Oregon middle school allegedly served more than 50 students pretzels coated with oven cleaner; the suit seeks up to $950,220.85 for claims including strict liability, negligence, unlawful confinement and violations of civil rights; police allegedly initially closed their investigation after speaking with the kitchen lead by phone and being unable to establish probable cause that a crime had been committed.
An Oregon middle school confirmed it served students soft pretzels sprinkled with oven cleaner in an incident ruled accidental, and the family of one student then filed a lawsuit.
Officials at Fowler Middle School in Tigard said on Tuesday, Oct. 20, that 37 pretzels covered in Alto-Shaam oven cleaner were accidentally served during a lunch period for sixth graders in September, as reported at the time by local outlet FOX 12.
Fowler Middle School Principal Cindy Pellicci, in an email to parents seen by local outlet KOIN 6, said the incident created significant alarm, that student safety and health were the top priority, and that protocols were followed to immediately identify students who ate the pretzels and check for illness or adverse reactions.
Parent Kaylee Spiering claimed the cleaning tablets were accidentally mistaken for salt after being crushed and put into a bag; she told FOX 12 the bag was left on the counter and someone mistook it for salt to put on the pretzels.
The lawsuit names the Tigard-Tualatin School District, Principal Pellicci, and the lead kitchen worker who allegedly put the oven cleaner on the pretzels, according to court documents obtained by FOX 12.
The Tigard-Tualatin School District and Fowler Middle School did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, Oct. 25.
The complaint was filed on Sept. 9 in Washington County Circuit Court, and the family seeks up to $950,220.85 for claims including strict liability, negligence, unlawful confinement and violations of civil rights, per the outlet (FOX 12).
The suit centers on a student identified as L.L., who immediately felt burning in his mouth and throat after being one of more than 50 students to allegedly ingest the oven cleaner, per the complaint. He later experienced chest pain, stomach upset and anxiety about eating at school.
According to the CDC, ingestion of sodium hydroxide — found inside certain Alto-Shaam products — can cause vomiting, chest and abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing with drooling, very rapid corrosive injury to the mouth and related organs, and possible gastrointestinal hemorrhage. This is general CDC information cited by the article, not a statement that all of these effects occurred in this student.
The lawsuit alleges Poison Control was not contacted until nearly 30 minutes after staff realized what had happened; FOX 12 reported the boy was kept in a room for around an hour while examined and monitored, was later sent back to class, and his parents were allegedly not notified until a letter was sent out two hours after the incident.
FOX 12 reported that, at the time, police closed their investigation after speaking with the kitchen lead by phone and being unable to establish probable cause that a crime had been committed.
The suit states that after substitute kitchen worker Chloe Larson tasted the seasoning and discovered it was oven cleaner, the kitchen lead allegedly referred to the substance as soap when speaking to administrators.
The kitchen lead also allegedly gave varying explanations for how the accident occurred, including that she was in a rush and another claim that she left the cleaner out to later use on a steamer.
