A 68 year old Chicago woman is suing Wendy’s, alleging that she became ill after eating food delivered from the restaurant chain.

Roxie Ellis Douglas says the meal included a double cheeseburger and a baked potato.

Douglas is seeking more than $50,000 in damages. Her lawsuit alleges that Wendy’s failed to prepare the meal safely before serving it.

According to the complaint, Wendy’s did not follow safe practices for storing, handling, and preparing food. Douglas also alleges that the company failed to inspect its food and kitchen conditions for contamination before the meal was served.

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Douglas says the food arrived in a sealed DoorDash delivery bag. She alleges that eating it resulted in intestinal infection, acute infectious colitis, and several other digestive illnesses.

A summary of medical expenses attached to the court filing totals $93,578. Those costs include two hospital stays.

The case was initially filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.

On Aug. 20, 2026, Wendy’s requested that the lawsuit be transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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The restaurant chain also demanded a jury trial. Wendy’s did not respond to a request from Moneywise for comment about the lawsuit.

The dispute joins a long history of widely reported lawsuits involving major fast food companies. Some cases have focused on severe injuries and illnesses, while others have challenged how restaurant products were marketed.

One of the best known cases came in 1992, when Stella Liebeck sued McDonald’s after spilling coffee on her lap.

The coffee had been kept at dangerously hot temperatures, and the spill caused severe burns.

A jury awarded Liebeck $200,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages. Those amounts were later reduced in a settlement.

McDonald’s faced another lawsuit in 2023 after a Chicken McNugget fell on the thigh of a 7 year old and caused a second degree burn.

The child’s family sued the company, and a jury awarded the family $800,000.

Another major case followed a 1993 E. Coli outbreak connected to undercooked hamburger patties served by Jack in the Box. Four children died, and approximately 600 additional people became sick because of the burgers.

The parent company of Jack in the Box faced 90 separate lawsuits related to the outbreak. The company settled the cases for amounts reaching as high as $7 million.

Other restaurant lawsuits have involved less serious allegations.

In 2023, Buffalo Wild Wings was sued by a plaintiff who claimed that the company used false and deceptive marketing for its boneless wings because they were not actually deboned chicken wings.

The chain mocked the complaint in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. It wrote, “It's true. Our boneless wings are all white meat chicken.”

The Wendy’s lawsuit arrives as the company faces pressure from declining sales.

The fast food chain has reported six consecutive quarters of sales declines.

Wendy’s is pursuing a turnaround plan that includes closing hundreds of restaurants.

Those closures are expected to reduce its domestic footprint by 5% to 6%.

Meanwhile, Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management is reportedly considering an offer to take Wendy’s private. Wendy’s shares have fallen nearly 25% during the past year.

Douglas is seeking damages based on her claimed illnesses and medical expenses, while Wendy’s has requested a jury trial in federal court.

The legal dispute now adds another case to the record of lawsuits involving food preparation, injuries, illnesses, and marketing at major restaurant chains.