Sometimes lawsuits are a bit like a war, or perhaps more a long battle anyway. Like a battle or a war, the damages to each side in litigation are real – the injuries to the victims, the costs to the defendant. The decision when to file suit (when to go to war or battle) are difficult to make. And, during the course of the battle or war – or litigation – each side might seek or have advantages or disadvantages – setback or victories.
Tomorrow the following will be filed in DuPage County Circuit Court:
2.2.1 On February 26, 2010, Ron and Sarah Bowers purchased a meal for their child, JB, from the defendant’s Subway restaurant located at 1009 East Roosevelt Road in Lombard, Illinois. Unknown to the plaintiffs, the sandwich that the defendant had manufactured, distributed and sold to them, and that JB thereafter consumed at the defendant’s restaurant, was contaminated by Shigella sonnei, a potentially lethal bacteria.
2.2.2 On or about February 27, 2010, JB began to exhibit signs of discomfort and illness. He began to run a mild fever, and he developed extreme abdominal cramping. By the end of the day, he was exhausted, and his condition only continued to deteriorate.
2.2.3 JB’s illness worsened throughout the next day. That afternoon, he began to vomit; bouts of explosive diarrhea commenced shortly therafter. That night, JB was unable to sleep at all, having to make many hurried trips to the bathroom to vomit or suffer another bout of diarrhea. In fact, he soon became so dehydrated and ill that he feinted and fell onto the bathroom floor, where his parents found him.
2.2.4 JB’s mother, Sarah Bowers, took her ill son to see his pediatrician later in the morning of March 1, 2010. There, the pediatrician noted that JB was severely dehydrated. JB was started on intravenous fluids and instructed to rest as much as possible. The visit lasted multiple hours, until JB had been hydrated enough to be safely discharged.
2.2.5 JB continued to suffer from fevers, nausea, abdominal cramps, and frequent diarrhea throughout the rest of the week. On Friday, March 5, 2010, Sarah Bowers again had to take JB to see his pediatrician due to continuing illness.
2.2.6 Around the time of JB’s follow-up appointment with his pediatrician, Ron and Sarah Bowers saw a local news story highlighting the Shigella outbreak associated with the defendant’s Subway restaurant located at 1009 East Roosevelt Road. They quickly reported JB’s illness to the DuPage County Health Department and have remained in contact with health department officials since that time. A stool sample recently submitted by JB tested positive for Shigella, and JB is counted as a confirmed case in the outbreak linked to the defendant’s restaurant.
“I love the smell of a lawsuit in the morning.”