Whataburger Customer Requests ‘No Onions’ in His Burger — Soon, Ends up Needing Medical Attention
Allergic reactions range from mild to intense, often requiring medical supervision to relieve the victim of the symptoms. Therefore, restaurants and food chains provide direct information about allergens on their menus and even take the pain of using separate utensils and boards to prevent cross-contamination, per The Conversation. Similarly, a Texas man who dined at a Whataburger joint requested a meal without onions because he was reportedly allergic to the vegetable. Following his meal, he is now suing the fast-food chain for up to $1 million in damages because they included onions in his meal out of negligence, as per NBC News.
When Demery Ardell Wilson stepped into the Whataburger restaurant in July 2024, he had no idea a legal battle would ensue. On April 25, 2025, the man filed a lawsuit against the fast-food chain, citing his concerns about their carelessness after he was served the burger meal with onions, despite his request. His lawsuit at Texas’s 269th Judicial District Court of Harris County states that the chain “failed to act in accordance with the appropriate standard of care” and inflicted suffering by causing “personal injuries.” As a consequence, Wilson is now suing them for monetary relief of more than $250,000, but less than $1 million, as per the court documents. This is to compensate for the penalties, costs, expenses, prejudgment interest, and other relief.
"Plaintiff expressly reserves the right to amend this damage calculation as discovery progresses,” read the lawsuit, which also alleged that the meal had a “manufacturing defect” at the time it left the customer’s possession. Wilson, who is represented by lead attorney Husein Hadi of the Hadi Law Firm, stated in the document that the meal was defective because of the presence of onions, deeming it “unsafe to eat,” further rendering it “unreasonably dangerous.” After the allergic reaction caused by the meal, Wilson had to seek medical attention. The document does not mention the location of the Whataburger store, given that it runs 764 restaurants in Texas itself, in addition to North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
Moreover, Wilson also did not declare the kind of meal he ordered at the restaurant, which became an inconvenience to his health condition later on. It does state he consumed the Whataburger, which is made of a beef patty, seasoned with mustard, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and diced onions on a bun. The chain also does not recognize onion as one of their possible common allergens list that includes wheat, gluten, and soy. In a court filing on May 16, Whataburger denied the plaintiff’s allegations, demanding “strict proof”, per USA Today. They denied any comments due to the pending nature of the litigation and claimed they were not aware or could have been possibly of a “defective or unreasonably dangerous condition” of the meal Wilson purchased.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first lawsuit Wilson has filed against a fast-food chain. In April 2023, he bought a burger from a Sonic Drive-In in Cypress, near Houston, and later alleged the chain of negligence after he requested no onions in his burger. It made him “feel sick” and caused “serious personal injuries,” the petition stated. He was once again represented by Had in that case. The suit was withdrawn a month later.