James Atkinson 'didn't tell' restaurant about nut allergy when placing Deliveroo order, inquest told

A computer programmer who died after eating a slice of a pizza he ordered via Deliveroo did not contact the restaurant to tell them he had a peanut allergy, an inquest heard.

James Atkinson, 23, and two flat-mates ordered three chicken tikka masala pizzas, chips and assorted Indian dishes on his phone from the Dadyal restaurant in Newcastle in July 2020.

Around an hour after eating a few bites of the pizza he died in hospital from anaphylaxis due to peanut ingestion, the inquest at Newcastle Civic Centre was told.

Mr Atkinson, a Newcastle University graduate who was originally from Leeds, had googled the curried pizza to see if it was likely to contain nuts before he placed the order with his two flatmates.

On the second day of the inquest, Luke Isley, 26, and Robert Raistrick, 27, gave evidence about what happened in their shared house in Jesmond on the night Mr Atkinson died.

Mr Isley told the coroner that he did not think Mr Atkinson mentioned his peanut allergy when he placed the order on the app, nor did he contact the restaurant directly.

But as little as 30 seconds after starting his first slice of the pizza Mr Atkinson began to raise concerns about what he was eating.

“He said something about he was not sure about the pizza,” Mr Isley told the inquest. “At first I thought maybe he didn’t like it.

“When he first mentioned about nuts, that’s when me and Rob started to panic.”

Mr Raistrick recalled how Mr Atkinson quickly fell ill after starting on the pizza, saying: “He was concerned that his lips were tingling so he was aware quite soon.”

The two flatmates began to look for his EpiPen without success. They had seen one in house they had previously shared but were unable to locate it in the current property.

Mr Atkinson called for an ambulance himself and was swiftly taken to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary where efforts were made to resuscitate him but he was confirmed dead 40 minutes after his arrival.

Mr Raistrick said Mr Atkinson could not direct them to where his EpiPen was, saying: “I don’t believe he knew where it was either – I cannot be certain.”

Coroner Karen Dilks asked Mr Isley if there had been any discussion about the type of food the friends would order and whether it was suitable for Mr Atkinson.

Mr Isley said: “When we were looking at menu options, James had mentioned about whether the type of pizza was likely to have nuts in it.

“James used his computer to see if that type of curry does have nuts in it.”

Mrs Dilks asked if Mr Isley had seen any warning on the Deliveroo app to contact the restaurant directly if someone had a query about allergens.

He replied: “There might have been but I didn’t see them if there were.”

The inquest continues.

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