A New York physician named Dr. Kanokporn “Amy” Tangsuan died of anaphylaxis in October 2023 after eating at a restaurant inside Walt Disney World’s Disney Springs, and her husband’s Disney wrongful death lawsuit over the food allergy became one of the most-watched consumer cases of the last two years, first because Disney tried to send it to private arbitration based on a Disney+ streaming signup, and finally because it ended quietly in February 2026 with a voluntary dismissal and an attorney saying only that “the case has been resolved.”1Allergic Living. Lawsuit Against Disney Dropped in Doctors Food Allergy Death
What Happened at Raglan Road
On the evening of October 5, 2023, Tangsuan, her husband Jeffrey Piccolo, and her mother-in-law had dinner at the Raglan Road Irish Pub at Disney Springs in Orlando. Tangsuan had severe, lifelong allergies to dairy and nuts. According to the lawsuit, the couple told their waiter about the allergies as soon as they sat down. The waiter consulted a chef and confirmed that the items they wanted could be prepared allergen-free.2NPR. Disney Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Tangsuan ordered vegan corn fritters with broccoli, scallops, a vegan shepherd’s pie, and onion rings.3Allergic Living. Disney and Pub Sued After Doctor Dies of Severe Allergic Reaction Some of the plates arrived without the allergen-free flags Disney restaurants typically use to mark safe meals. The waiter verbally reassured the couple a second time that the food was safe.4WESH. Disney Springs Raglan Road Allergy Lawsuit
About 45 minutes after eating, Tangsuan began having difficulty breathing. She self-administered an EpiPen and collapsed. She was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.5NBC News. Disney Says Man Cant Sue Over Wifes Death The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as anaphylaxis from elevated dairy and nut levels in her system and classified the manner of death as an accident.6Florida Politics. Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Disney That Got National Attention Over Disney Terms Ends
Who Kanokporn Tangsuan Was
Tangsuan, 42, was a family medicine specialist affiliated with NYU Langone Hospital on Long Island and lived in Carle Place, New York.7The New York Times. Disney World Allergy Death Lawsuit Her father told reporters her food allergies were what drew her to medicine. She once explained the choice by saying, “I have to be something where I know how to treat myself.” She carried an EpiPen at all times and was described as “hypervigilant” about her diet, routinely reminding restaurant staff about her allergies whenever she ate out.8New York Post. NYU Doctor Who Died at Disney Went Into Medicine Because of Food Allergy
The Claims Piccolo Brought
Piccolo filed the wrongful death suit on February 22, 2024, in the Circuit Court for Orange County, Florida, acting as personal representative of Tangsuan’s estate under Florida’s Wrongful Death Act. The complaint named three defendants: Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc. (which operates Raglan Road), Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc., and The Great Irish Pubs, Inc. It contained four counts of negligence. Two counts against Disney rested on theories of agency and apparent agency, arguing Disney controlled the restaurant’s training, hiring, and food allergy practices.9Ars Technica (Court Filing). Piccolo v. Great Irish Pubs Florida, Complaint The suit sought damages in excess of $50,000, the minimum threshold for Florida circuit court, and Piccolo’s team indicated they expected actual damages to be far higher.10The New York Times. Disney Wrongful Death Lawsuit Arbitration
Beyond the false-assurance allegations, the complaint claimed that five other diners had improperly received meals containing allergens at Raglan Road in the three years before Tangsuan’s death.11The Independent. Disney Amy Tangsuan Death Dairy Anaphylactic
The Disney+ Arbitration Argument
In late May 2024, Disney moved to force the entire dispute into private binding arbitration. The company argued Piccolo had agreed to arbitrate all disputes with Disney when he signed up for a free Disney+ trial in 2019 and again when he bought theme park tickets in 2023. Whether Piccolo actually read the terms, Disney’s filing stated, was “immaterial.”2NPR. Disney Wrongful Death Lawsuit
The idea that a streaming trial signup could waive a jury trial in a restaurant death case drew national outrage. Piccolo’s lawyers at Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley filed a 123-page response calling the argument “preposterous,” “inane,” and “so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience.” They made two central points: a streaming service agreement should not logically apply to a wrongful death claim at a restaurant, and the lawsuit was brought on behalf of Tangsuan’s estate, which did not exist when the Disney+ account was created and could not be bound by its terms.12CNN. Disney Arbitration Wrongful Death Lawsuit
On August 19, 2024, Disney reversed course and waived its right to arbitration. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said in a statement: “At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations. With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss.” Piccolo’s attorneys noted that although Disney dropped the motion in this case, the underlying arbitration clauses stayed in Disney’s terms of service across its platforms.12CNN. Disney Arbitration Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Fights Over the Food and the Records
Once the case moved forward in court, discovery turned contentious. Someone in the dinner party had kept a doggy bag from the meal. In November 2024, Piccolo’s attorneys sought guidance on testing the frozen sample, and the food was eventually sent to InBio Lab to determine whether dairy was present.13Florida Politics. Disney Wants to Keep Food Testing Results Confidential in Wrongful Death Lawsuit
When the results arrived by October 2025, Disney designated them as confidential. Plaintiff’s attorney Brian Denney challenged the designation, writing that Disney lacked a “good faith basis” for keeping them secret and that “when a case involves the safety of food served to the public, transparency should be the rule, not the exception.” Denney said the test results were intended to be “Exhibit One” at trial.11The Independent. Disney Amy Tangsuan Death Dairy Anaphylactic The specific findings were never made public.
The confidentiality dispute went further. According to court filings, the defendants initially designated almost every produced document as confidential, including the restaurant’s publicly available menu. Piccolo’s team filed a motion in October 2025 to strip confidential designations from the food testing results, company handbooks, employee files, food preparation instructions, and guest accident reports.14Bloomberg Law. Disney Seeks to Keep Secret Details of Its Restaurants Food Piccolo also sought recipes and ingredient lists, the cleaning history for the fryer used that night, personnel files for several employees, the restaurant’s lease with Disney, and records of prior allergen-related complaints. Raglan Road produced documents about its cleaning policies but, according to a February 2025 filing, had no records showing it actually followed its fryer cleaning procedures in the days leading up to the incident.15Florida Politics. In Disney Wrongful Death Lawsuit Widower Fights for Restaurant Records
How the Case Ended
On February 27, 2026, Piccolo filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice, ending all claims against the three defendants. A dismissal with prejudice means the claims cannot be refiled. Whether a financial settlement changed hands is unclear. Attorney Brian Denney told Allergic Living only that “the case has been resolved” and declined further comment.1Allergic Living. Lawsuit Against Disney Dropped in Doctors Food Allergy Death
A personal injury lawyer unconnected to the case told the New York Post that a wrongful death case with these facts could “realistically resolve somewhere in the high seven-figure to low eight-figure range,” and that any settlement terms would be “almost certainly confidential.”16New York Post. Widower Who Sued Disney Over NYU Doctor Wifes Allergy Death Drops Claim in Potential Settlement Court records do not show the terms of any agreement, and Disney has not commented publicly on the resolution.6Florida Politics. Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Disney That Got National Attention Over Disney Terms Ends
What Changed at Disney’s Restaurants
Disney World’s official allergy accommodation process asks guests to inform a server on arrival, triggering an “allergy request process” that involves a specially trained cast member. Meals prepared through this process are supposed to be delivered with a visual marker such as a pick or a designated tray. Disney’s policies explicitly state the company “cannot guarantee that any item is completely free of allergens” and that it is “ultimately at Guests’ discretion to make an informed choice.”17Walt Disney World. Special Dietary Requests
As of early 2026, Disney World and Disneyland removed the field for noting food allergies from their Advanced Dining Reservation forms, so guests can no longer flag allergies when booking a table online. Dietary needs must now be communicated directly to restaurant staff on arrival. Updated online disclaimers reinforced that Disney takes steps to prevent cross-contact but cannot guarantee allergen-free meals.18Allergic Living. Reality Check: What Disneys Allergy Booking Changes Will Mean
A Second Allergy Case Against Disney
The Piccolo case is not the only allergy suit Disney is facing. In July 2025, Mae Bodziony and her family filed a separate suit in Orange County Circuit Court against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts over an August 2024 incident at the Be Our Guest restaurant in Magic Kingdom. Bodziony, then 25 and allergic to tree nuts, ordered from an “allergy-friendly” menu after informing her server. Even with an allergy meal marker on the food, she suffered an anaphylactic reaction after eating a salad, requiring an EpiPen, an ambulance, and a three-day hospital stay in which she experienced both a biphasic reaction and a rebound reaction.19Allergic Living. Woman on Reaction Ordeal That Led to Disney Nut Allergy Lawsuit The family reported hospital charges exceeding $40,000 and brought claims for negligence and emotional distress seeking more than $250,000 in damages. As of mid-2025, Disney was denying all liability in that case.20WDWNT. Woman Suing Disney World Hospital Stay Eating Contaminated Salad