By Knight Kiplinger
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Sunday, November 16, 2008

QI have a walnut allergy, and I had a severe reaction at a restaurant after eating a dessert that did not list walnuts as an ingredient. The restaurant refuses to help pay my emergency-room bill, saying I should have asked the waitress about nuts before ordering the cake. But my asking wouldn't have mattered -- when I did inquire later, after the reaction began, she said there were no walnuts in the cake. Then my boyfriend summoned the manager, and he told us the waitress was mistaken -- the cake did contain walnuts.

AYou make a good case for at least partial reimbursement of your expenses, and I hope the restaurant will see this. Yes, you should have asked about walnuts before ordering, but the waitress's misinforming you -- after the reaction began -- shows that your having done so wouldn't have prevented the problem. This situation calls for an amicable settlement, without litigation.