Man sues restaurant after passing a 9-foot tapeworm

Anthony Franz had started to eat healthy, but the salmon salad he ordered for lunch from Shaw's Crab House in August 2006 wasn't the best choice, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Franz says he became violently ill for several days after eating that salad and later "passed a 9-foot tapeworm."

A pathologist determined the giant tapeworm only has one source -- "undercooked fish, such as salmon," according to court papers.

You can be infected by eating raw, lightly cooked, under-processed freshwater or certain migratory species of salmon, perch, pike, pickerel, and turbot.

Franz's lawsuit seeks $100,000 from Shaw's and its parent company, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, contending the restaurant's staff was negligent in serving him improperly cooked fish.

But Carrol Symank, vice president of food safety for Lettuce Entertain You, said the tapeworm didn't come from Shaw's.

"We have done a thorough investigation and we're confident the restaurant is not the source," he said.

The fish tapeworm is a broad, long worm, often growing to lengths of 3-7 feet at maturity and capable of attaining 30 feet. It is the longest tapeworm invading humans with as many as 4,000 segments (proglottids). The main body of the worm is virtually filled with male and female reproductive organs allowing it to produce an incredible number of eggs, often more than 1,000,000 a day. The adult attaches to the wall of the intestine with the aid of two sucking grooves located in its head (scolex).