A woman with a severe egg allergy has told of her "terror" as she "drifted in and out of consciousness" after saying McDonald's staff wrongly added mayonnaise to her order.
Holly Carr, 37, suffered an allergic reaction after starting to eat a chicken wrap she bought from a branch in Crawley, West Sussex, in 2021.
She had an anaphylactic shock and ended up in hospital, but at first, the fast food giant refused to accept responsibility, she claims.
It wasn't until they were due to face Holly in court this month, she says, that the firm "admitted liability", according to a legal letter, and reached a settlement.
Holly, from Crawley, West Sussex, said: "I want to raise awareness so people with allergies are mindful when ordering from McDonald's.
"If I hadn't had my EpiPen on me, I wouldn't be here right now. But I don't get the feeling the company understand that's how serious it could've been."
Holly was enjoying a night in with her family on May 6, 2021, when they decided to order McDonald's.
The mum-of-four specifically ordered her grilled chicken wrap without mayonnaise, due to a severe egg allergy, she developed during adulthood, she said.
When the food arrived, their order seemed to be correct, and Holly's wrap had a 'no mayonnaise' sticker placed on the front.
But this was not the case, and after taking her first bite, Holly instantly knew something was wrong.
Holly, who works as a carer, said: "It looked like my order was right because the wrap had a 'no mayo' sticker on it. I didn't think twice about checking, but after taking a bite, I immediately tasted the mayonnaise.
"I started to be violently sick and was drifting in and out of consciousness - and in that moment, I felt terrified. My fiance called 111 and they instructed him how to use my EpiPen, which saved my life. They sent an ambulance, and I was taken to hospital where they ran some tests and gave me lots of fluids.
"But, thankfully, because I wasn't on my own, and I had a second EpiPen at home, I was swiftly discharged."
Holly sought legal advice against McDonald's a week after the incident, she said.
For almost two years, she claims McDonald's blamed her for not reading the label or the allergen advice but last week, the fast food brand "admitted liability" for the incident, according to a legal letter, and reached a settlement.
Holly says she's happy to have received a financial settlement - but she fears they haven't learnt their lesson.
She said: "It makes me so angry that they denied responsibility for so long. The amount I've received should be more to be honest, but I'm so tired of it now. It's been dragging on for nearly two years.
"I've seen a psychologist, who diagnosed me with PTSD from the incident, which can make eating hard sometimes. I hope they've learnt their lesson, but the way they've handled it doesn't fill me with confidence.
"Hopefully after reading my story, those with allergies will take extra care the next time they order from McDonald's."
A spokesperson for McDonald's said: "We would like to offer our apologies to this customer for their experience. We take order accuracy very seriously and have procedures in place to help ensure customers are served correctly.
"We are disappointed that we fell short of these high standards on this occasion and additional training has been provided to the restaurant team to ensure they understand the policies in place."
