Orla Baxendale, a 25-year-old New York professional dancer, died after consuming holiday cookies from a Stew Leonards grocery that were mislabeled.
🗣 JUST IN: Professional dancer Orla Baxendale, 25, dies from allergic reaction to mislabeled cookies from Stew Leonard's.
Family attorney Marijo Adimey called the incident "100% preventable."
Tragedy struck as Orla Baxendale, a UK-born dancer living in Manhattan, suffered… pic.twitter.com/davaqSqVik
— Hankâ„¢ (@HANKonX) January 25, 2024
According to her family’s attorney, Baxendale experienced a severe allergic response to peanuts in the cookie and was unable to recover since her EpiPen was allegedly ineffective.
The store’s failure to update the ingredient label was attributed by the family to “gross negligence and reckless indifference to the rights of others and an intentional wanton violation of those rights” by professionals.
The Connecticut Post reports that in January 2025, Baxendale’s family and Stew Leonard’s came to an undisclosed deal.In the wake of these tragedies, our sympathies are still with both families.
