[Trigger Warning]
A civil lawsuit has been filed against Highbrow Wood Fired Kitchen & Bar in Northampton by the estate of Kierstin Hedin, following her death due to a severe dairy allergy. The suit alleges that 29-year-old Hedin, who suffered from a life-threatening dairy allergy, was served dairy cheese on her pizza despite specifically requesting “vegan/lactose-free cheese.” This incident occurred on January 8, 2023, when Hedin ordered a “braised short rib & grilled red onion” pizza with non-dairy cheese.

Soon after consuming the pizza, Hedin began to experience symptoms of an allergic reaction, which quickly escalated into an anaphylactic reaction. This severe reaction unfortunately led to a brain injury. Tragically, Kierstin Hedin was pronounced dead five days later as a result of the incident. Since 2023, the remains of the pizza in question have been stored as evidence in a freezer maintained by the Northampton Police Department.
A significant hurdle in the legal proceedings arose concerning the testing of the pizza for dairy content. In December 2024, Hedin’s estate proposed using Trelfa Labs, a Massachusetts-based facility capable of qualitatively detecting the presence of milk. However, about a month later, Highbrow requested a more complex quantitative test, which no lab within Massachusetts is equipped to perform, leading to a disagreement over the testing methodology.
To resolve the testing impasse, Hedin’s estate then suggested using the food allergy research and resource program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a nationally recognized facility capable of conducting the desired quantitative analysis. However, this lab has a strict policy against third-party observation or video recording of its procedures, which Highbrow insisted upon. Despite initially agreeing to proceed with this lab on April 29, 2025, Highbrow rescinded its consent two days later, objecting to the non-negotiable protocol.
Given that the statute of limitations is set to expire in six months, and Highbrow has not agreed to the Nebraska lab’s non-negotiable terms, Hedin’s estate contends that it has no other recourse. They are now seeking judicial intervention to compel the release of the pizza from the police department so it can be sent to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln facility for the critical quantitative testing, aiming to advance the civil suit before time runs out.
Here is a WWLP-22News Report on the incident: