E. Coli HUS Lawsuit From Contaminated Well Water
A lawsuit involving contaminated well water has been settled by food safety attorney Elliot Olsen of Pritzker Olsen law firm. Although E. coli infections are more commonly associated with contaminated food like ground beef, it is entirely possible to contract E. coli poisoning from water supplies as well.
In this particular case, an Iowa toddler became sick from E. coli-contaminated well water that served as the water supply to the rural home her family rented. In May of 2007 she became sick with symptoms of an E. coli infection, including severe diarrhea and abdominal pain. She was hospitalized and her symptoms worsened as the pathogen infected her blood. Her condition, known as hemolytic uremic syndrome ( HUS), destroyed her red blood cells and kept the kidneys from serving their purpose as filters that clean and remove waste from the bloodstream.
She was put on kidney dialysis and remained in the hospital for about a month. Even three years later, she has permanent kidney damage and will continue to require medication and treatment, and could need a kidney transplant later in life.
Employees of the Iowa county where the home is located tested tap water from the house in June of 2007 and the results were positive for E. coli. The home is surrounded by pasture land, and cattle are known to graze on land uphill from the well. Expert witnesses, including a PhD environmental engineer from a major university and a PhD microbiologist from another major university specializing in E-coli, were hired to examine the situation and confirmed that cattle manure in rainwater most likely drained into the well and contaminated the water with the pathogen.
Although settlement earned for this young girl will help offset past and future medical expenses, they cannot undo the suffering this family has experienced. Nor will the settlement change the fact that property owners have a duty to their tenants to provide safe, clean drinking water—a duty that the property owner in this case has failed to fulfill.
Tags: Cattle E coli, e coli in water sources, e. coli hus, E. coli Prevention, ecoli children, ecoli lawsuit
