Eatery that served fatal oysters fails health test

<p>A popular restaurant near Atlanta's airport scored low on a health inspection less than two weeks after a woman who had eaten raw oysters there died, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.</p><p>Fulton County inspectors gave Spondivits Seafood and Steaks a 48 out of a possible 100, according to documents the newspaper obtained under the state's open records act. Inspectors marked violations for 23 out of 44 categories on the inspection form.</p><p>The report says inspectors found meat including oysters held at temperatures above 41 degrees, with shrimp at temperatures as high as 67 degrees.</p><p>The restaurant scored a 95 on its most recent inspection on Aug. 24. That's a day after inspectors gave it a 48 and asked that it be shut down for cleaning and repairs. Representatives of the restaurant had no immediate comment.</p><p>The restaurant in East Point is prohibited from serving oysters until further notice from the Health Department.</p><p>The daughters of the 52-year-old woman who died, Delphine Barnes, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Fulton County State Court against the restaurant. Stephanie Barnes and Erica Coston contend the restaurant was negligent in handling the oysters.</p><p>The lawsuit says Barnes stopped at the restaurant on Aug. 6 and shared a plate of raw oysters with a friend. She recently had retired from the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, where she was a deputy.</p><p>The daughters' attorney, Craig Jones of Atlanta, says Barnes had anemia and other health issues but had eaten raw oysters many times without problems.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2dea004)</p>