Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark

The widening cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections in Georgia may be linked to an outbreak E. coli illnesses in Ohio and Michigan. The Moultrie Observer reports that preliminary testing has linked the at least 9 Georgia cases to the 41 in Ohio and Michigan, which have been traced back to beef products from Nebraska Beef Ltd. of Omaha.

E. coli infections began showing up in central Ohio in mid-June, paralleled by a sharp increase in E. coli cases in Michigan. By June 20, officials had genetically linked many of the Ohio and Michigan cases; the days that followed, the outbreak was traced to ground beef from Kroger stores. With illnesses nearing 30, Kroger initiated a voluntary recall on June 25. On June 30, FSIS announced that the tainted meat had been traced back to Nebraska Beef Products, and a recall of 531,707 pounds of ground beef products was initiated. On July 2, the Kroger recall widened to 20 states. On July 3, the Nebraska Beef recall was widened to include 5.3 million pounds. Georgia is not on the Kroger recall list, but is part of the Nebraska Beef recall.

Nebraska Beef Ltd. is already enmeshed in lawsuits stemming from tainted meat. In 2006, seventeen people were infected with E. coli O157:H7 after eating Nebraska Beef products prepared at a church dinner; one woman died. Nebraska Beef responded by suing the church. A lawsuit has just been filed on behalf of an Ohio resident who became ill from eating Nebraska Beef products in the recent outbreak there.

We also filed an additional lawsuit against Nebraska Beef today.  The recent filing occurred today in the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, on behalf of Pickerington, Ohio resident Dawn Grieves, who was infected with the toxic E. coli strain O157:H7 after eating ground beef processed by Nebraska Beef Ltd.

The lawsuit states that Ms. Grieves consumed Nebraska Beef Ltd products in the early part of June, 2008 and fell ill on June 5. She began to have increasingly severe symptoms including abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, which sent her to the emergency room on June 6. She was given medication and returned home. Her health continued to deteriorate, and when and samples taken during her ER visit revealed that she had been infected with E. coli O157:H7, she returned to the hospital. She was admitted on June 9 and remained there until June 13. She continues to recover from her illness.

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A White Water reminder from the past:
E. Coli Victims Sue White Water; Addison and Shook Families File for Damages

Back in July of 1998, we filed lawsuits for the families of Matthew Addison, age 3, from Louisville, Ky., and Jordan Shook, age 4, from Cartersville, Ga., in Cobb County against White Water. This was a situation where both children developed kidney failure and required dialysis as a result of ingesting E.coli 0157:H7 at the White Water park in Marietta.

Both children were hospitalized, and one suffered a stroke as a result of HUS.

Fortunately, the White Water E. coli outbreak helped put in place a number of precautionary safety measures to prevent future outbreaks, but as I said then:

"The children who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) from the E. coli poisoning are at risk of developing long-term complications, including kidney failure, learning disabilities and other medical problems."

We can get clients settlements large enough to cover their medical bills and any other financial need they may ever have. But there is no amount of money big enough to compensate for the loss of a child's health, or to compensate parents for the anguish of watching their children nearly die before them. That's why we work so hard here to try to inform and educate about prevention, so I can be put out of a job and gladly find another line of work.

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Some good news for one of my young clients who went through the agony of HUS from eating a hamburger. Stephen Tyler Roberts, now 13, but at the time a fifth-grader, was hospitalized and needed several blood transfusions in April 1998. He was one of the unfortunate children at Danielsville Elementary School who ate the hamburgers served in the school cafeteria, which turned out to be contaminated with the deadly E. coli O157:H7.

This contaminated meat went to schools, prisons and military institutions in the South. The meat was supplied by Bauer Meat Co. in Ocala Florida, which since declared bankruptcy.

As I said in the article Boy's Family Settles Lawsuit Over E. coli:

Stephen did not need dialysis to help him recover, a scenario many young children undergo when their kidneys shut down from E. coli poisoning. However, future consequences resulting from the E. coli episode may be further complicated by the boy's diabetes, said Marler, a Seattle attorney specializing in food-borne lawsuits. "With diabetes, it's harder to predict what the long-term damage of E. coli will be," he said. "But, now he's doing great."

Marler contends U.S. schoolchildren continue to be at risk for eating contaminated meat because school districts get the beef for free from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's school lunch program, which has bought the lower- grade beef at reduced prices. The USDA is the same federal agency overseeing meat plant safety. Two schools in Washington and Texas had E. coli outbreaks last year.

"It is time for the USDA to act to ensure that our children are not eating food that is contaminated," Marler said.

The USDA is currently being probed for its school lunch program by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

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Grandmother Bonnie Bartley is suing the Golden Corral, after she and her 4-year-old granddaughter became extremely ill from the lunch they ate there on August 17.

Allison B. Luster, 4, of Marietta, was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital's emergency room Aug. 23 with bloody stools, constant vomiting and severe stomach pain. She also developed a severe fever and dehydration and lost one-seventh of her body weight.

As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:

"This little girl was really sick, requiring extensive antibiotic treatment and a week in the hospital," Marler said in a telephone interview. "The restaurant should step up and do the right thing, compensating victims for what they've gone through."

Bartley experienced milder symptoms the day after eating at Golden Corral, Marler said, but she did not seek immediate medical attention. The girl is still being monitored for stomach problems, he said.

The lawsuit demands that the restaurant compensate the plaintiffs for medical bills, attorney fees and any other fees the court may deem appropriate.

The establishment is one of a dozen Golden Corrals in the metro area owned by Charles Winston. He voluntarily closed the restaurant Sept. 9 while state health officials scrutinized it for a source of contamination. Equipment and surfaces were once again thoroughly scrubbed and sanitized.

18 cases of salmonella berta infections between early June and late August were linked to the Golden Corral just west of Town Center mall, the Georgia Division of Public Health said last week. One person with underlying health conditions died.

Although previous health inspections Aug. 21 and 22 turned up no trace of the bacteria, the bacteria was found in a floor drain last week.

Other patrons of the restaurant who claim they were sickened at the Golden Corral are considering litigation.

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As Clint Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported yesterday, It's been a rough year for Cindy Horney. Ten days of fever, nausea and diarrhea were only the beginning. The case of salmonella food poisoning triggered a case of Reiter syndrome, an uncommon form of arthritis. Intense pain in her hips made it hard to walk and sleep. Cindy Horney is one of seven people on behalf of whom Marler Clark has filed lawsuits against Golden Corral restaurants.

The plaintiffs hope to settle the cases through mediation as early as October. "Litigation is expensive, and if you can resolve these things without going through the court system it's better for everyone involved," he said. Marler recently settled a case in which victims of a 2002 salmonella outbreak linked to a Michigan bakery collected $3,000 to $80,000 each.

Cindy Horney is one of at least 23 people stricken last year in an outbreak of salmonellosis linked to the Golden Corral buffet restaurant on Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw. The Georgia Division of Public Health a year ago today announced that from early June through late August 2003, a total of 23 people were infected with the bacteria salmonella berta. Of those 23 confirmed cases, 18 had links to the Golden Corral just west of Town Center mall.

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