{"id":38433,"date":"2026-08-11T11:07:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38433"},"modified":"2026-08-11T11:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T06:07:50","slug":"marine-vet-retired-firefighter-joe-belgio-suffers-permanent-brain-damage-after-allegedly-eating-contaminated-oysters-at-illinois-steakhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=38433","title":{"rendered":"Marine vet, retired firefighter Joe Belgio suffers permanent brain damage after allegedly eating contaminated oysters at Illinois steakhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F08%2Fcicero-man-served-marine-firefighter-137045430.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A Marine Corps veteran and retired Illinois firefighter has been hospitalized for more than a year with permanent brain injuries allegedly caused by eating raw oysters.<\/p>\n<p>Joe Belgio, 44, allegedly went into cardiac arrest, fell into a months-long coma and suffered permanent brain damage after eating contaminated oysters at Gibsons Steakhouse &amp; Bar in Oak Brook \u2014 about 15 miles west of downtown Chicago \u2014 on June 30, 2025, according to a lawsuit obtained by <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7chicago.com\/post\/cicero-veteran-retired-firefighter-joe-belgio-suffered-brain-injury-eating-oysters-gibsons-steakhouse-oak-brook-suit\/19658602\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC 7 Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Belgio\u2019s fianc\u00e9e, Melanie Stayer, said the couple was out celebrating with family when he ate the oysters before he fell gravely ill.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Joe Belgio, 44, suffered permanent brain damage after allegedly eating contaminated oysters at a Chicago-area steakhouse. <span class=\"credit\">ABC 7<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis was a casual day with a casual man at a restaurant that he wanted to celebrate life with his family, and life can change so quickly,\u201d Stayer told the outlet, adding that the couple had just welcomed their five-month-old daughter, Carmela, into the world at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Belgio then went into cardiac arrest three days after eating the oysters, and \u201clost consciousness and oxygen for at least eight minutes,\u201d his lawyer, Scott O\u2019Sullivan, told the outlet.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>O\u2019Sullivan said Belgio was revived by the Cicero Fire Department, the same department in which he had previously served, before being rushed to the hospital.<\/p>\n<p>His attorney said doctors screened Belgio for bacteria and found several pathogens in his system.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit alleges Belgio contracted two dangerous bacteria from the oysters \u2014 Enteropathogenic E. coli, known as EPEC, and Plesiomonas shigelloides, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/chicago\/news\/cicero-firefighter-sues-gibsons-steakhouse-contaminated-oysters-brain-injuries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CBS News reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The 44-year-old spent months in a coma after falling ill and has since been confined to a hospital bed \u2014 requiring around-the-clock care.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Belgio is a Marine Corps veteran and retired Illinois firefighter. <span class=\"credit\">ABC 7<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe is most likely bedridden for the rest of his life,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cHe is extremely brain damaged, with very little cognitive capacity, and will need care for the rest of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gibsons released a statement to ABC 7 Chicago saying \u201cthere have been no other reported cases of illness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on the facts and our internal investigation, there is no evidence to suggest that our establishment caused his health condition. We are confident that a fair and thorough legal process will agree with this conclusion,\u201d a spokesperson for the steakhouse said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Belgio\u2019s fianc\u00e9e, Melanie Stayer, said the couple was out celebrating with family when he ate the oysters. <span class=\"credit\">ABC 7<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Two other seafood suppliers, Supreme Lobster and Seafood Company, have also been named in the lawsuit, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/abc7chicago.com\/post\/cicero-veteran-retired-firefighter-joe-belgio-suffered-brain-injury-eating-oysters-gibsons-steakhouse-oak-brook-suit\/19658602\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC 7 Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A GoFundMe set up to help Belgio and his family pay for care describes him as a loving father, Little League coach and \u201ca man dedicated to service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn ex-Marine and firefighter who has devoted his life to protecting others and serving his country,\u201d the page reads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe completed a courageous tour of duty in Iraq, demonstrating unwavering loyalty and heart every step of the way. Joe has always been the first to lend a hand when help is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since launching on July 8, 2025, the page has raised over $85,000.<\/p>\n<p>Belgio has already racked up more than $1 million in medical bills, CBS News reported.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Marine Corps veteran and retired Illinois firefighter has been hospitalized for more than a year with permanent brain injuries allegedly caused by eating raw oysters. Joe Belgio, 44, allegedly went into cardiac arrest, fell into a months-long coma and suffered permanent brain damage after eating contaminated oysters at Gibsons Steakhouse &amp; Bar in Oak&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/cicero-man-served-marine-firefighter-137045430.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}