Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark

Consumers urged to dispose of product due to bacterial contamination

SACRAMENTO, Thursday, September 11, 2008 – Grade A raw cream produced by Organic Pastures of Fresno County –product with the code date SEP 12—is the subject of a statewide recall and quarantine order announced by California State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Breitmeyer. The quarantine order came following the detection of campylobacter bacteria in the cream. The detection was confirmed this morning.

Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of food-borne illness in the United States. At this point, no illnesses have been reported. People with symptoms who consumed this product should consult their physicians.

Under the recall, Organic Pastures Grade A raw cream labeled with a SEP 12 code date is to be pulled immediately from retail shelves and consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any product remaining in their refrigerators.  According to the Centers for Disease Control website:

“Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness typically lasts one week. Some infected persons do not have any symptoms. In persons with compromised immune systems, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a serious life-threatening infection.”

This is not the first time Organic Pastures has recalled Raw Cream, or other products for that matter.  See my prior post - "Where there is Smoke."

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As Tim Hay of the San Mateo County Times reported today, a multinational food company and a Salinas vegetable farm have been ordered to pay an undisclosed amount to an elderly woman who was sickened in an outbreak of E. coli in a local retirement home, as well the son of a woman who died after eating the same tainted spinach in October 2003.

Marler Clark sued Sodexho USA and River Ranch Fresh Foods after an outbreak of the food-borne illness sickened at least 16 people and caused the deaths of two others at the Sequoias Portola Valley retirement community.

County health officials said the outbreak was most likely caused by pre-packaged spinach that Sodexho bought from River Ranch and served at the 315-bed home.

Marler Clark represented Keith McWalter, whose 85-year-old mother, Alice McWalter, died when the E. coli caused kidney failure. Mrs. McWalter was hospitalized on Oct. 14, and suffered 12 days of fever and nausea before she died.

The other Marler Clark client was Sequoias resident Sarah Ish. She was hospitalized with severe nausea during the outbreak, but pulled through.

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As the The Salinas Californian reports, legal consequences of two food-borne illness outbreaks that sickened at least 63 people and killed one in 2003 have returned to the Salinas Valley, where state investigators say lettuce and spinach -- contaminated at an unknown point before they were eaten -- were grown.

Beginning with those infected with E. coli 0157:H7 by the tainted produce, lawsuits have blossomed throughout the food-growing and distribution chain. Now River Ranch Fresh Foods and Diamond Produce, the two companies said to have grown the contaminated lettuce and spinach, have taken preliminary steps toward suing Monterey County.

Lawyers for the two Salinas-area companies say the Monterey County Water Resources Agency failed to maintain Santa Rita Creek, resulting in flooding in 2003 that spread waste across a field where produce was grown.

From the article:

Forty of the customers sickened at Pat & Oscar's sued the restaurant chain and settled their claims just before Christmas, said Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who represented 29 of them.

Marler also represents the family of McWalter and Sarah Ish, another sickened Sequoias resident, in lawsuits against Sodexho USA, he said.

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As the Herald Salinas Bureau reports, Marler Clark clients who were victims of an E. coli outbreak involving contaminated vegetables grown in Salinas Valley are settling their claims against the restaurants serving tainted produce in 2003.

But the legal cases continue while the restaurant owners attempt to pin the blame on Salinas Valley produce companies, and operators of those produce companies blame the Monterey County Water Resources Agency.

Terms of the settlement agreement between the restaurants and the approximately 49 victims of the outbreak are confidential. Not all those claims have been settled, but most have.

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As Joshua L. Kwan reported in his San Jose Mercury News story Woman's son sues over E. coli death, the son of an 85-year-old woman who died last year during an E. coli outbreak at a Portola Valley nursing home has sued the food service company that supplied contaminated spinach to the home.

''The wrong is that someone got sick,'' said Bill Marler, an attorney for McWalter's family. ''And it came from food that these people served,'' he said about Sodexho. ''In a sense, it's case closed.''

Keith McWalter said his mother complained of abdominal pain when he visited her Oct. 12. She was hospitalized Oct. 10, but residents weren't warned of a possible E. coli outbreak until Oct. 13. Matsumoto said the home did not receive test results indicating an E. coli problem until Oct. 13.

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Half Moon Bay fruit-juice maker Odwalla Inc. has reached a settlement -- reportedly for $12 million to $15 million -- with the families of five young victims of a 1996 food-poisoning outbreak caused by a tainted batch of the company's apple juice.

The hefty settlement brings closer to an end a painful saga for the company and victims' families, which began when Washington health authorities announced the outbreak at Halloween a year and a half ago. The company now has settled 17 lawsuits, with three remaining.

"It's behind us now and we will move on," said Terry Beverly of Seattle, a Microsoft engineer whose son, now 4, hovered near death after being stricken with an advanced stage of poisoning caused by a deadly microbe known as E. coli O157:H7.

"We're very pleased to be able to fully compensate these children and to move forward with the families and with the lawyers to address the bigger issues of food-safety awareness," said Chris Gallagher, a company official.

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Marler Clark filed a class action lawsuit today in King County Superior Court against Senor Felix Gourmet Mexican Foods, a California Corporation implicated in the recent Shigella outbreak. The named plaintiffs are Larissa Spafford, Robert B. Spafford, and their two-year-old son, Jasper, of Port Townsend, Washington. Ms. Spafford purchased the dip at a Port Townsend QFC. Both she and her son became ill.

Ms. Spafford's and her son's symptoms were relatively mild, although they included diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. They were very fortunate not to have suffered more severe injury.

The Washington State Department of Health has confirmed that at least 30 people in Washington have shown symptoms of shigellosis. Dozens more were sickened in Oregon and California. This number is expected to rise over the next few weeks. Marcia Goldloft, Medical Epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health, said, "Shigellosis can be very serious and is highly contagious. People who think they might have been infected should pay close attention to hygiene. Carefully washing your hands could prevent getting a family member sick."

This dip was sold under several names, including the above, Trader Joe's 5 Layer Fiesta Dip, and Delicioso 5 Layer Fiesta Dip. It was sold in jars and on seven-inch trays, with a distinctly layered appearance. The list of retailers that carried this product includes the following: Costco, Trader Joe's, Puget Consumers Co-op (PCC), and SAM'S Club. It was also distributed to QFC, Thriftway, Red Apple Markets, Zupan's, and Homegrocer.com, as well as other individual retailers.

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As the Associated Press reported today, Marler Clark has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Suzie and and Hector Lapuyade of Redwood City against the owners of Viva Mexico, a local restaurant shut down after the area's worst food poisoning outbreak in years.

The enchilada meal the Lapuyade family ate Oct. 21 led to days of excruciating abdominal cramps, severe diarrhea, fever and vomiting for Suzie and her young son. Lab tests confirmed that Suzie Lapuyade, 40, and her 9-year-old son Maurice contracted shigellosis, a gastrointestinal disease that spread through bacteria-tainted food.

From the article:

"They are certainly entitled to a decision about what the value of what they went through for a week is worth," attorney Marler said. Marler's firm has represented 1,500 food poisoning victims in the past seven years, including those affected by the 1998 E. coli contamination of Odwalla juice. "Twelve jurors in San Mateo County will help us all make a decision."

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On Thursday, Marler Clark filed a second E. coli lawsuit against Sodexho, Inc., the food provider for Sequoias Portola Valley retirement facility. This second lawsuit was filed by Sarah Ish, one of thirteen Sequoias residents and employees who confirmed positive with E. coli infections during the outbreak, and one of seven residents who were hospitalized for treatment of their E. coli infections. Health officials traced the outbreak to contaminated raw spinach which was served to Sequoias residents by Sodexho.

"Senior citizens are more at-risk for foodborne illness because, as we age, our immune systems weaken. Ms. Ish's body had to fight harder to rid itself of the E. coli bacteria," said William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. "Ms. Ish continues to suffer from confusion and loss of energy as a consequence of her E. coli infection, nearly a year after she was hospitalized."

This is the second E. coli lawsuit brought against Sodexho by Marler Clark and Keeney, Waite & Stevens. The first was brought on behalf of the family of Alice McWalter, a Sequoias resident who died as a result of her E. coli infection. "Sodexho to date has shown no interest in discussing a fair resolution to this or any of the cases, it is time to force them to be responsible," said Marler.

"I've said it before, but the food industry in California was, or should have been, extremely concerned with fresh produce safety at the time of this outbreak, since an outbreak in the San Diego area had been traced to E. coli-contaminated lettuce just weeks before," Marler concluded.

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A piece of legislation called the California Safe Schools Lunch Act (AB 1988) was recently passed by the State Assembly and now awaits action by the State Senate. Unfortunately, its positive-sounding title might not satisfy the State's own truth-in-labeling laws. The Bill's passage and the passage of similar laws around the country could put school children at greater risk, not less, from the dangers of foodborne illness.

As originally drafted, the Bill restricted the State's Department of Education from ordering irradiated ground beef from the USDA's National School Lunch Program, an option that school districts have available for the first time in 2004. In its present form, it makes this additional food safety measure more difficult and expensive, at a time local school districts are financially strained. In some cities, like San Francisco, Berkeley and Washington, DC, local school boards have succumbed to pressure from irradiation opponents and voted outright bans on serving irradiated foods in cafeterias.

The problem is this: an estimated 73,000 people, many children, get E. coli infection every year and 61 die from it. The GAO found that between 1990 and 1999, 195 outbreaks of foodborne illnesses occurred in our schools, sickening thousands of children. I currently represent children who were made ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating contaminated lettuce served at Eastern Washington University, a school in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and schools in San Diego and Orange Counties. In the past, I represented children made ill after eating contaminated ground beef in Washington state and Georgia. The list goes on, and E. coli is not the only pathogen making our children sick.

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As the Associated Press' article Kennewick family sues almond producer reported today, a Kennewick family has sued California-based almond producer Paramount Farms, alleging the mother and two young children were sickened by salmonella-tainted almonds. Shawnna Morris and her two young children got sick in February after she purchased a package of raw almonds, produced by Paramount, at a store in Kennewick, in southeast Washington. All three were diagnosed with salmonella enteritidis.

Both Shawnna Morris and her 3-year-old daughter ate the nuts, said lawyer Bill Marler of Seattle. He alleges the family's 1-year-old son became ill from contact with his mother and sister.

Federal regulators have received reports of 25 people falling ill, most likely from raw almonds supplied by Paramount. The company has voluntarily recalled 13 million pounds of raw almonds nationwide, and the size of the recall appeared likely to grow as federal investigators continue to identify distributors and repackagers of almonds that originated from Paramount.

The recall covers millions of packages sold under a variety of brand names across the country, as well as almonds shipped to eight countries. The FDA has received reports of salmonella enteritidis in at least six states so far. No fatalities have been reported.

Young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to infection from salmonella. Symptoms include fever, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Salmonella in almonds is rare. This is only the second reported outbreak. So far, investigators have found no trace of salmonella in any of the recalled almonds or at Paramount. Experts say it is possible the outbreak may never be traced to its source.

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As Bee Staff Writer Mike Lee reported today, the FDA says more outlets are likely affected by the Kern County product. My firm filed suit Monday against Paramount Foods, whose raw almonds are the target of a greatly expanded product recall.

"More labels and more (brand) names will be coming out," said Jack Guzewich, director of emergency response in FDA's food-safety division. "It's not done yet."

The FDA has tentatively linked 18 cases of food poisoning to raw almonds from Paramount Farms of Lost Hills in Kern County, the state's largest almond grower. Potentially related illnesses still are being investigated.

Over the weekend, Paramount expanded its recall to 13 million pounds from 5 million pounds. It also said that it immediately would start pasteurizing all almonds before they are shipped.

"There have been prior incidences of salmonella-tainted almonds that have led to illnesses and recalls," said William Marler, attorney for the family, in a statement. "Paramount Farms should have known this and taken appropriate precautions to make sure it didn't happen again."

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As Joshua L. Kwan reported in his San Jose Mercury News story Woman's son sues over E. coli death, the son of an 85-year-old woman who died last year during an E. coli outbreak at a Portola Valley nursing home has sued the food service company that supplied contaminated spinach to the home.

''The wrong is that someone got sick,'' said Bill Marler, an attorney for McWalter's family. ''And it came from food that these people served,'' he said about Sodexho. ''In a sense, it's case closed.''

Keith McWalter said his mother complained of abdominal pain when he visited her Oct. 12. She was hospitalized Oct. 10, but residents weren't warned of a possible E. coli outbreak until Oct. 13. Matsumoto said the home did not receive test results indicating an E. coli problem until Oct. 13.

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