The attorney for a professional dancer who died after eating incorrectly labeled cookies has spoken out about the severity of her fatal allergic reaction.
Órla Baxendale, a 25-year-old dancer, suffered an anaphylactic shock so extreme that it rendered her EpiPen ineffective, her attorney says. Her family is now determined to seek justice from the supermarket that sold the fatal treats.
The tragic incident occurred on January 11 when Baxendale, a UK-born professional dancer, was rehearsing at a dance studio in Connecticut.
According to attorney Marijo C. Adimey, Baxendale experienced a severe allergic reaction after consuming a Vanilla Florentine cookie that had been purchased from Stew Leonard's grocery store. Adimey highlighted that Órla was exceptionally cautious about her diet, meticulously checking all ingredient labels. She always carried an EpiPen and surrounded herself with individuals who knew how to administer it in case of an emergency.
Tragically, even with the prompt use of an EpiPen, it was unable to mitigate the severity of her allergy's reaction. Adimey emphasized the devastating nature of this incident, underscoring that it was both preventable and avoidable.
"Orla was very careful and hyper-vigilant about everything she ate, and always thoroughly checked the ingredients on all packaging. In addition, she always carried an EpiPen with her and surrounded herself with people who know how to administer one," the attorney said in a statement. "In fact, when this tragic and preventable incident occurred and after she began to have an anaphylactic reaction, an EpiPen was used but due to the severity of her allergy, it was not effective."
In response to the incident, the company's CEO, Stew Leonard, issued a video statement alongside his family and team, claiming that the supermarket was not informed by the cookie manufacturer about the inclusion of peanuts in the ingredients. "I’m here with our family and, I mean we’re just all devastated, very sad. I have four daughters, one of them is in her 20s. I can imagine how that family feels right now," he said in the statement.
However, the bakery, based in Long Island, contradicted this assertion, asserting that it had informed Stew Leonard's of the ingredient change in July 2023.
A statement from Cookies United, released on Tuesday, read: "Stew Leonard’s claimed in an earlier press release that ‘the cookies contain peanuts, which was an ingredient not disclosed to Stew Leonard’s by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, considering the tragedy of these circumstances, we need to point out that Stew Leonard’s was notified by Cookies United in July of 2023 that this product now contains peanuts, and all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly."
Adimey condemned Stew Leonard's conduct, characterizing it as deplorable. She accused the supermarket of attempting to shift blame and evade responsibility by engaging in a public relations campaign and promoting self-interests instead of accepting full responsibility.
Co-counsel Howard S. Hershenhorn added, per the New York Post: "Based upon the outrageous conduct of Stew Leonard in failing to list peanuts, which Órla was horribly allergic to, in the cookie ingredients, we are certainly going to commence legal action."
Baxendale originally hailed from Manchester in the UK and moved to New York City in 2018 as a scholarship student at the Ailey School. At the time of her sudden death, she was a professional dancer with the Momix Dance Company.
Heartfelt tributes have since poured in for Órla from her family and friends on social media. Her sister, Ciara, described her as radiant and a dreamer in a touching Instagram tribute. Her other sister, Niamh, also called for donations to be made to Allergy UK in order to help prevent tragedies like this happening to somebody else.
Our thoughts go out to Baxendale's family and loved ones at this time.