Brooklyn, NY— One family is taking on a Brooklyn McDonald’s after they say the restaurant is responsible for the death of a 67-year-old truck driver who died of a heart attack while locked inside of the establishment.
According to the suit, it took firefighters nearly 15 minutes to break the door down.
Anthony DeNicola, a commercial truck driver, took a breakfast break in June 2013 when he left to use the bathroom and never returned. His worried friends called him and screamed through the door, but they did not get a response.
“If somebody could have opened the door, they could have started CPR on him until emergency workers got there,” said his son, Anthony DeNicola Jr., 38.
DeNicola’s family filed a $10 million lawsuit in the Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday claiming he was in cardiac arrest and didn’t get CPR in time due to bumbling Bensonhurst fast food employees.
Family lawyer Stephen Spinelli said there was no way to unlock the door from the outside when the deadlock was engaged and McDonald’s workers were unhelpful.
The Brooklyn Supreme Court lawsuit pans the fast food restaurant for causing DeNicola’s death.
In a statement, franchise owner Paul Hendel said, “We were deeply saddened by the loss of our guest Anthony, who visited our restaurant regularly.” He declined to comment further.
McKinley Strother, WTKR Intern
