Chicago Woman Says Wendy’s Cheeseburger Left Her Hospitalized TWICE

A Chicago woman says a routine Wendy’s order turned into a months-long medical nightmare after she allegedly contracted a dangerous bacterial infection from a double cheeseburger.

Roxie Ellis Douglas, 68, claims she was hospitalized twice and ultimately saddled with more than $93,000 in medical bills after eating food delivered from a Wendy’s restaurant on Chicago’s South Stony Island Avenue, according to a federal lawsuit.

Douglas ordered a double cheeseburger and baked potato online on Aug. 5, 2025, the complaint states. The meal was delivered to her home through DoorDash inside what she described as a sealed, unopened bag.

At first, nothing appeared wrong.

But Douglas alleges the burger was contaminated with Campylobacter and other illness-causing bacteria before it ever left Wendy’s control — making the meal “unreasonably dangerous” and “not fit for human consumption.”

By the following day, Douglas says she was seriously ill.

According to the lawsuit, she was diagnosed with Campylobacteriosis and suffered a string of gastrointestinal complications, including acute infectious colitis, dehydration and gastroenteritis. She also allegedly developed leukocytosis, an elevated white blood cell count, as well as dangerously low potassium levels.

Campylobacter infections can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. Older adults can face an increased risk of serious complications.

For Douglas, the alleged infection resulted in two separate hospital stays.

Court documents cited in the lawsuit show she accumulated $93,578.24 in healthcare costs beginning Aug. 6, 2025.

Those expenses allegedly included a $2,848.50 ambulance ride to Advocate Trinity Hospital and more than $24,000 for an initial three-day hospital stay.

About a week later, Douglas was hospitalized again, this time for five days, generating another bill of nearly $43,000, according to the complaint.

Her medical problems allegedly continued well beyond the initial illness.

In January 2026, Douglas underwent a colonoscopy that cost nearly $13,000, the filing states.

Douglas argues she had every reason to believe Wendy’s would prepare and serve food that was safe to eat.

Instead, she claims she unknowingly received a meal containing what the lawsuit describes as a “deadly pathogen.”

The complaint accuses Wendy’s of failing to properly inspect its food, failing to eliminate dangerous bacteria and failing to adequately warn customers about potential hazards connected to the meal.

The case was initially filed in state court on July 30 before being moved to federal court in Chicago on Aug. 20.

Douglas is seeking $50,000 in damages.

The allegations have not been proven in court, and Wendy’s had not publicly responded to the claims at the time of the original report.