I am beginning to sound a bit like a broken record.  How many of these outbreaks have to happen until WE rethink what WE are exposing our kids to?

For those interested, see my post on Food Safety News – “Publisher’s Platform: Time to Ban Petting Zoos, Yet?”

Now, here is the reality of this E. coli O157:H7 outbreak – there are at least 106 who were sickened.  There was 1 death and a dozen who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and many more who were hospitalized.  Medical bills are likely to be in excess of $1 Million in total, and future needs for some of these kids will be very, very expensive.  My educated guess in that the petting zoo owner and the Cleveland County Fair have not much more than$1 Million each in insurance, and even less in assets.

So, what to do?

My friend and great lawyer from North Carolina, Mark Kurdys, and I will file a Lawsuit next week.  We will do the case pro bono (for free) and seek to get all lawyers to do the same.  Hopefully, we can get the medical insurance companies to waive any rights for reimbursement and get the petting zoo and Fair to do the right thing.

We shall see.