James Atkinson: inquest launches after man, 23, who had peanut allergy died after eating pizza from Deliveroo

An inquest has opened today into the death of a 23-year-old man who died after eating a single slice of pizza from deliveroo.

James Atkinson, who had a peanut allergy, died on 10 July 2020 after ordering a takeaway pizza via the Deliveroo app from Dadyal restaurant in Newcastle.

What happened?

The computer science graduate from Leeds is thought to have suffered anaphylaxis after eating just one slice of pizza with his housemates in Newcastle, his family says.

James had ordered food from the restaurant before but was unaware that it had recently started using peanut powder within the ingredients for making the chicken tikka masala pizza.

His parents Jill, 58, and Stuart, 59, have pushed for an inquest and are hoping it will give them answers about the circumstances of their son’s death, who they say was always “so careful” with his allergy.

They also hope questions will be raised over the effectiveness of Deliveroo’s allergen information, saying that such details need to be made clearer with an allergy tick box on the order form.

On the CrowdJustice page, the Leeds couple said: "We have been told by the police that the restaurant may have swapped an ingredient in his pizza on the day he died to a powder containing peanuts.

"We want to find out if that is correct, and if so, how that could have been allowed to happen".

‘He will be forever missed’

A pre-inquest review hearing was held on 10 May at Newcastle Upon Tyne Corner’s Court, Civic Centre, Barras Bridge. The full inquest into the death is currently listed on 19 to 22 October 2022.

The Atkinson’s said James will be forever missed by his family and friends and said they wish to do everything they can to increase protection for allergy sufferers in his memory.

More than two million people in the UK are living with a diagnosed food allergy and the family hope that examining whether lessons could be learned in their son’s death could help ensure that other allergy sufferers are better protected.

On the Crowd Justice page, the family wrote: "James was a bright and bubbly character who lived life to the full. He loved sports especially rugby, cycling and running.

"He moved to Newcastle to study computer science and loved it so much he decided to stay. He loved spending time with his friends and brightened up any room.

"He was the life and soul of a party and went out of his way to make sure everyone was having a good time.

"James loved his time with family and looked forward to coming home to spend time with us all and having long walks with our dog. James will be forever missed by all his family and friends.

"We are determined to ensure a full and fearless Inquest into James’ death and want to do all we can in his memory to help increase the protection for allergy sufferers in the UK.

"We have been told that a three-day Inquest into James’ death will be taking place on what would have been his 26th birthday.

"We should be celebrating his life on this day and instead we are going to be asking questions about what happened to him that night. We have no words to describe how painful this will be".