SHU Suing Campus Food Service After Pancake Choking Death

FAIRFIELD, CT — Sacred Heart University is suing its food service provider, claiming the company is responsible for the death of a student who fatally choked during a pancake-eating contest three years ago at the school, according to the Connecticut Post.

Caitlin Nelson, 20, died after participating March 30, 2017, in the on-campus, school-sanctioned contest for charity. Her family is suing Sacred Heart on the grounds that the university approved a contest involving a food that is particularly dangerous to eat quickly and failed to have medical personnel on site. Sacred Heart has denied any wrongdoing, and said in 2019 that Nelson’s death was caused by her own negligence. Now the school wants food service company Chartwells to pay for the university’s costs in the case, the Post reported.

Chartwells had promoted and catered other eating contests at Sacred Heart and the school had no reason to think the contest was dangerous, according to the Post, which reported that a Chartwells spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Nelson, of Clark, New Jersey, was the daughter of a Port Authority police officer killed in 9/11. Her goal was to get a master’s degree in social work and work with children suffering from serious illnesses. She was also involved with the Resiliency Center of Newtown, where she worked with children affected by the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

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