Diabetic suing Dollywood for sugared soda mixup

A Monroe County man is suing Dollywood for $610,000 as a result of a sugary soda mixup he said sickened him and soured a business deal.

William Kinne is diabetic, and in a suit filed Friday, he says he made that very clear to his waitress at Dollywood's Back Stage Restaurant.

Kinne says he ordered a Diet Coke and asked the waitress repeatedly to be sure it was diet, after he noted it tasted strange.

Kinne reports the waitress assured him multiple times it was diet before realizing the wrong syrup had been hooked up to the soda fountain, resutling in Kinne drinking several glasses of full-sugar Coke.

As Kinne grew ill, he said park paramedics noted his blood sugar at 480 but were unable to provide him insulin and unwilling to call him an ambulance.

In the end, Kinne says, a business partner had to drive him to the hospital. Kinne said the resulting illness caused him to miss out on scheduled business negotiations in the area, which he had to reschedule, and has exacerbated his diabetes.

A Dollywood spokesperson said the park cannot comment. The Dollywood Company, Dolly Parton Productions, and Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation are named as defendants in the suit.

Click here for the full suit