Customer suing McDonald’s over cheese on Big Mac says he still eats there but doesn’t ‘trust’ it

Metro

By David Propper

He’s still lovin’ it – but with a super-sized exception.

A Rockland County man suing McDonald’s after he said an errant slice of cheese on his Big Mac almost killed him in February 2021 still eats from the greasy fast-food spot, but will only order a plain burger and doesn’t eat out like he used to.

“I have been back to McDonalds,” Charles Olsen, who has a severe milk allergy, told The Post this week. “But I no longer trust McDonald’s to follow any order specifics such as not including cheese.

Olsen went into anaphylaxis reaction after taking a bite out of the famed Mickey D’s burger, according to a recently filed lawsuit. The mishap saw him rushed to the hospital where he thought he “might not make it,” he said.

“Now I just order their fries and a plain burger, with nothing on it. Just the patty and bun,” he said. “I just can’t take the risk that it’ll happen again.”

Olsen also said this week he still avoids eating out at most restaurants nearly three years to the date of the unnerving incident that the 28-year-old explained started as a “normal night” with friends, with him ordering from one of his “go-to places.”

He said he made his regular order with his usual request of “No Cheese” over Door Dash as he’s done “many times.” When the food arrived and his opened up his burger, there was no indication the order was fumbled.

“When I got my food, I opened the burger, and it looked like it always did when I ordered it. I didn’t see any cheese melting over the sides,” Olsen said in written answers through his lawyers. “I assumed it was like every other time I had eaten there before.”

But he quickly suffered a reaction that rapidly got worse, he said.

“I was just frustrated that McDonalds got the order wrong,” he recounted. “But as my symptoms worsened, I started to worry, and realized how bad it was.

“When I felt my throat close up and it became difficult to breathe, I actually thought I might not make it.”

Olsen and his girlfriend rushed to the hospital in an Uber – because they thought an ambulance might take too long, he said. About a dozen doctors and nurses surrounded him and he was given a cocktail of epinephrine, Benadryl and steroids that kicked in before he needed to be intubated, according to his account.

The order came from a McDonald’s at 355 8th Ave. that has since closed, his legal team said.

McDonald’s declined comment when reached about the lawsuit earlier this month, but sent a statement from the owner of the franchise saying the owner was taking the complaint “seriously” and reviewing the claims.

Olsen’s girlfriend, Alexandra DiBenedetto, told The Post the ordeal was “terrifying.”

“Having to watch him struggle the way he did was absolutely awful, and it just kept getting scarier as the reaction progressed,” she said.

“It’s never easy to watch anyone you love in pain let alone struggle for their life,” she added. “I was awake all night terrified just watching him making sure everything was okay.”

On top of cautiously sticking with a bland burger from the Golden Arches now, Olsen also avoids restaurants that might serve a lot of cheese. He mostly goes to Asian eateries, he said, because they don’t use much cheese or dairy.

“I hope my story raises awareness about how serious food allergies are. Something needs to be done,” he said. “Something needs to be done to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else. Employees need to be better trained. Restaurants can do better. Restaurants owe it to their customers to do better.”

His lawyer, Jory Lange, stressed restaurants need to better listen to their customers, warning food allergies are a “life or death issue.”

“Thank goodness that Charles survived,” Lange, who specializes in food allergy litigation, said. “This traumatic event could have become a terrible tragedy.”