A 10-year-old homeless Nigerian boy seeking refuge in Ireland died from an allergic reaction to a McDonald’s wrap after his mother bought one for him to take his mind off being on the streets, authorities have been told.
Maleek Lawal fell ill just 10 minutes after eating the Peri Peri chicken wrap at the Ilac Centre restaurant in Dublin on October 7, 2016.
An inquest into his death on Thursday heard his mother knew he loved McDonald’s food and bought the snack for him and his brother and sister to “keep them happy”.
Rukawat Lawal told Dublin Coroner’s Court Maleek was allergic to milk, fish, eggs and nuts, but had never had any problems eating hamburgers or nuggets from the fast food chain.
She paid tribute to him, saying: “He was a beautiful, playful boy. He loved to read. My heart is truly broken for him.”
Ms Lawal was pregnant with Maleek when she arrived in Ireland from Nigeria seeking asylum in 2006, Dublin Live reports.
The family were struggling to find a place to stay at the time of his death and she and her three children were sleeping rough.
She had taken all three to a barber shop to get a haircut that day, before leaving her two sons and going to McDonald’s to get some dinner with her daughter.
The mother-of-three ordered hamburgers, chicken nuggets and a Peri Peri wrap for her children, the inquest heard.
She said: “We were homeless, with nobody helping us, we were on our own and I was looking for a way to get out of emergency accommodation. I was looking for a way to keep the children happy.
“Sometimes I felt so bad for him, so sad for him, that when he asked for something I had to give it to him.”
When Maleek and his brother arrived they tucked into their meal, but he started to complain he was in pain just 10 minutes later.
He went into the toilet and said: “Mam I’m feeling weak, I can’t walk.” His face and lips swelled up, at which point his mother took him back to the barbershop screaming for help.
The Dublin Fire Brigade arrived at 5.50pm to find Maleek not breathing.
He was rushed to Temple Street Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7 pm.
A post-mortem examination gave cause of death as anaphylactic shock. Tests found there was milk in the chicken wrap, which caused the allergic reaction.
Paediatric allergy specialist at Temple Street, Dr Aideen Byrne, told the inquest a skin test in March 2016 showed the boy’s allergies were still present and she advised his mother make sure he continued to avoid milk, fish and eggs.
Ms Lawal was given auto-injectors to carry with her in case of anaphylaxis.
The inquest was also told she made no queries about the allergens in the McDonald’s food she ordered.
Returning a verdict of misadventure, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane issued a recommendation to parents of children with allergies to consult lists provided by restaurants detailing ingredients of meals provided.
“The recommendation is that parents should consult such lists prior to ingestion and to reinforce the importance of carrying an auto-injector in cases of food allergy,” she said.
