Lettuce E. coli O145 Victim Represented by Pritzker Olsen
A student at Daemen College in Amhurst, New York who was sickened in an outbreak of E. coli 0145 has retained food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen. The outbreak of this rare strain of E. coli has been associated with recalled romaine lettuce distributed by Sidney, Ohio-based Freshway Foods.
The client became sick in early April with the classic symptoms of an E coli infection: bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal pain. She was hospitalized three times as her condition developed into hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS), which is a life-threatening illness that can cause central nervous system damage, kidney failure, pancreatitis, heart problems, and other serious medical problems. Although her condition is improving, the illness has posed a serious setback to her studies and was completely preventable. E. coli O157 is the typical strain of this pathogen that the general public hears about in news reports. It is the most common strain linked to human illnesses, but as this case illustrates, it is certainly not the only one that can severely harm consumers.
“Any E. coli strain capable of producing the toxin that causes injury or death in humans, including O145, should be declared an adulterant and regulated by federal and state agencies charged with protecting our nation’s food supply,” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker. “Our client’s HUS is no less devastating because it came from O145 rather than O157.”
Currently, the USDA does not test for E. coli O145 in food products. Food safety advocates, including Pritzker, have advocated for this to change. This particular O145 outbreak has so far sickened 23 people in 4 states: Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seven probable cases are also being investigated.
In the wake of this outbreak and recall, another distributor, Vaughn Foods of Oklahoma, has also recalled lettuce that was grown at the same Yuma, Arizona farm being investigated in connection with the Freshway Foods recall.
Tags: e coli 0145, e. coli hus, E. coli Lawsuit, lettuce outbreak
