Ex-South Jersey Cop Says He Drank Beer That Nearly Killed Him, Court Filing Says

It took only one sip of draft beer at a New Jersey restaurant for retired Lt. Richard Washart to believe that he had been poisoned.

But the former cop still couldn’t believe how close he came to death as a result of drinking beer drawn from a tap system line that may have contained a powerful caustic cleaning solution, according to a news release from Washart’s attorney, D’Amato Law Firm.

A New Jersey court has agreed to hear the lawsuit he has filed against a restaurant in Atlantic City, which has denied being responsible for the Washart's injuries.

The Seaville man is suing the restaurant, McCormick & Schmick’s, which is located at the Harrah’s casino in Atlantic City. Washart claims he was served beer that was tainted by a caustic agent used to clean beer tap lines, according to PIX11. Harrah’s is not a defendant in the suit.

“I will never forget November 6, 2012, and how one minute we’re celebrating the success of our emergency medical services operation at the restaurant and then I’m violently throwing up blood, my mouth and stomach are burning, and I’m then hospitalized for one week,” Washart, an Ocean City Police Department veteran of 25 years, said.

In his 25 years of police work and during his time as a paramedic, Washart said, he never saw anything like "what happened to me at McCormick & Schmick’s in Harrah’s Atlantic City."

Washart continues to receive regular treatment for his injuries, which his doctors said include the erosion of about 25 percent of his stomach lining.

Determined to ensure that what happened to him never happens to another patron of any restaurant or bar, Washart said he retained the D’Amato Law Firm to investigate the events that led to his “poisoning."

“Based on our investigation, and reflected in the complaint, we determined that Mr. Washart was seriously sickened and permanently injured due to the fact that the beer tap system at McCormick & Schmick’s was improperly maintained," attorney Paul D’Amato said.

D’Amato said the restaurant failed to purge the highly toxic cleaning solution from the line through which Washart’s draft beer was allegedly poured.

“It was a poisoning waiting to happen, and randomly it happened to Richard Washart,” he said.

“I will never forget, not just the incredible burning sensation from my mouth to my stomach, but also being told how I could have died from drinking that beer,” Washart said. “Two years and countless doctor visits later, I only wish it were a bad dream. It is a nightmare with which I live every day.”

Patch file photo