What gives?  Am I the only one who likes lawsuits?

The CDC reported that a total of 270 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Typhimurium (240 persons) and Salmonella Newport (30 persons) have been reported from 26 states.  The number of ill persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (16), Arkansas (6), California (2), Florida (1), Georgia (9), Iowa (10), Illinois (26), Indiana (24), Kentucky (70), Massachusetts (2), Maryland (1), Michigan (6), Minnesota (5), Missouri (15), Mississippi (7), Montana (1), New Jersey (2), North Carolina (7), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (5), Tennessee (8), Texas (2), and Wisconsin (6).  The number of ill persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport identified in each state is as follows: Illinois (8), Indiana (9), Michigan (1), Missouri (6), Ohio (3), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (2).  101 ill persons have been hospitalized. Three deaths have been reported in Kentucky.  According to the FDA, Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc. of Owensville, Indiana is a source of this outbreak.

We have filed the only two lawsuits.

We filed the first on behalf of a Michigan family stricken in this latest cantaloupe-related Salmonella outbreak. The complaint was filed in Calhoun County Circuit Court in Michigan on behalf of Battle Creek resident Angela Compton and her two children, who both fell ill with Salmonella Typhimurium infections after eating cantaloupe purchased from Wal-Mart in mid-July.  According to the complaint, Angela Compton purchased 3 cantaloupes at the Wal-Mart store located at 6020 B Drive North in Battle Creek on July 12, 2012, and later sliced the cantaloupes and served them to her family. Within days of eating the cantaloupe slices, one of Angela’s children, “MC”, became ill with symptoms of Salmonella infection, including diarrhea and painful abdominal cramping. She was treated several times by her pediatrician and was later seen at the emergency room for dehydration and was admitted to Bronson Kalamazoo hospital. MC was hospitalized for 4 days and continued to suffer symptoms of Salmonella infection for at least a week after she was discharged. MC’s sister, “CC”, fell ill with a Salmonella infection several days into MC’s illness. She was also treated at her pediatrician’s office, but required further treatment at the ER on three occasions. Both children tested positive for Salmonella Typhimurium.

We filed the second  lawsuit on behalf of Vicksburg, Michigan resident Julie Hall, who alleges that her daughter, “OS”, became ill with a Salmonella Typhimurium infection as a result of consuming cantaloupe manufactured and sold by Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc.  According to the complaint, four-year-old OS developed severe abdominal cramps and repeated bouts of diarrhea starting on July 17, 2012. Ms. Hall sought medical advice for her daughter’s condition that evening, and took her daughter to the emergency room the next day. In the ER, physicians examined OS, then placed the child on antibiotics and discharged her. On July 19, OS’s symptoms persisted and she was brought back to the hospital for evaluation. She was discharged later that evening, but her mother sought further medical advice for her daughter on July 20, as OS’s diarrhea had become bloody. Ms. Hall later learned that her daughter’s stool sample tested positive for the strain of Salmonella associated with the multi-state Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to Chamberlin Farms cantaloupes.