Shigella Blog - Shigella Legal Cases

Shigella Lawsuit Filed Against Subway

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 09:05:59 -0800

Seventy people who say they became ill last year after eating at a Lombard Subway filed suit Monday against the restaurant chain.

The complaint filed in DuPage County accuses the Subway at 1009 E. Roosevelt Road of strict product liability, negligence and breach of warranty in connection with a food poisoning outbreak in late February 2010.

Health officials at the time said they confirmed more than 120 cases of shigella associated with the outbreak, which closed the restaurant for more than six weeks.

The lawsuit names plaintiffs in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake and Will counties, as well as Wisconsin.

Seventy Subway Shigella Suits Served

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:15:53 -0800

Seventy people who say they became ill last year after eating at a Lombard Subway filed suit Monday against the restaurant chain.

Health officials at the time said they confirmed more than 120 cases of shigella associated with the outbreak, which closed the restaurant for more than six weeks.

The lawsuit names plaintiffs in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake and Will counties, as well as Wisconsin. A Subway spokesman said Monday the company does not comment on pending legal matters.

Subway Restaurant Shigella Outbreak Chicago 2010

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:26:16 -0800

At least 116 people have been culture confirmed with Shigella sonnei infections apparently contracted at a Chicago-area Subway restaurant in March of 2010. Ten were hospitalized. Health authorities closed the restaurant at 1009 E. Roosevelt in Lombard and launched an investigation into the source of the outbreak.

Shigella is a bacterium that can cause sudden and severe diarrhea (gastroenteritis) in humans. Shigellosis is the name of the disease that Shigella causes. The illness is also known as “bacillary dysentery.” A person can contract shigellosis by ingesting only a few organisms, which makes shigellosis the most communicable of the bacterial-induced diarrheas.

Shigella - A brief, but long, history in time

bmarler@marlerclark.com (Bill Marler) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 20:42:28 -0800

Lombard, Illinois, Subway Restaurant 2010

An outbreak of Shigella sonnei was linked to eating at the Subway Restaurant in Lombard, Illinois (DuPage County). Persons who had eaten at the restaurant between February 24 and March 1 and who had developed gastrointestinal illness were urged to see their health care providers. As of April 15, 2010, the cause of the illnesses was not known.

• Number Laboratory Confirmed Cases: 125

• Number Hospitalized: 13

For some past outbreaks, see the Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database

Lombard Subway Shigella Outbreak Tops 116

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 07:28:03 -0800

The number of affected people continues to grow as more come forward to report shigella infections after eating at a Lombard Subway restaurant.

Dave Hass of the DuPage County Health Department said there are currently 116 confirmed shigella cases linked to the Subway restaurant as of today. Of those cases, 13 people were hospitalized and 12 were discharged. Hass also said the source of the shigella is unknown at this time and might never be pinpointed. The restaurant, 1009 E. Roosevelt Road, has been closed since March 4.

Law firm Marler Clark now represents close to 70 people affected by the outbreak. Drew Falkenstein, attorney at Marler Clark, said three lawsuits have been filed as of now. While they will not file 70 separate suits, Falkenstein said they will pursue claims on everybody’s behalf.

Shigella infections are spread from person to person, and also can be acquired from contaminated food. The disease can be prevented by frequent hand washing with soap and water.

People who have developed these symptoms between Feb. 24 to March 1 after eating at the Lombard Subway restaurant are advised to contact their physicians and the DuPage County Health Department at (630) 682-7400. Information on shigellosis is available at http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbshigellosis.htm.

78 Shigella Cases at Lombard Subway Prompt Three Lawsuits

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:32:27 -0800

A third lawsuit has been filed by Marler Clark in the Shigella food poisoning outbreak from a Lombard Subway restaurant.

Wheeling resident Michael Carpino consumed a Subway sandwich on Feb. 25, and fell ill by the following day. The lawsuit states that 45-year-old Carpino is still suffering from Shigella infection symptoms.

Currently, Marler Clark represents more than 50 people in regards to the outbreak.

Dave Hass of the DuPage County Health Department said there were 78 confirmed Shigella cases linked to the Subway restaurant as of today. Eleven of those cases were hospitalized, and ten were discharged.

Hass also said the source of the Shigella is unknown at this time and might not be pinpointed. The restaurant has been closed since March 4.

Shigella infections are spread from person to person, and also can be acquired from contaminated food. The disease can be prevented by frequent hand washing with soap and water.

People who have developed these symptoms between Feb. 24 to March 1 after eating at the Lombard Subway restaurant are advised to contact their physicians and the DuPage County Health Department at (630) 682-7400. More information on shigellosis is available at www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbshigellosis.htm.

Third Lombard Shigella Subway Lawsuit Filed

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:42:39 -0800

Second Subway Shigella Suit Served

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:15:00 -0800

Food Saftey Infosheet on Subway Shigella Outbreak

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:29:05 -0800

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Allegheny County Health Department Warns of Shigella Outbreak

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:08:04 -0800

The Allegheny County Health Department today reported that a growing number of county residents are being diagnosed with a diarrheal illness known as shigellosis.

A news release said 60 shigellosis cases have been reported countywide since October -- 34 so far this year -- compared to just 12 cases of the disease in all of 2008 and five in 2007. Nearly half of the 60 cases were children 5 or younger and about one-third of the cases had contact with a family member or someone in a school or day care center who had diarrheal illness.

Flying the Unfriendly Skys

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:13:56 -0800

GATE GOURMET OUTBREAK FACTS

In September, 2004, health agencies from many U.S. states, as well as international health agencies, began reporting persons ill with Shigella sonnei infections. Tests conducted on many U.S. residents who had cultured positive for the bacteria revealed a matching genetic pattern amongst the samples provided. Epidemiological investigation revealed that a cluster of persons ill with the genetically identical strain of Shigella sonnei had traveled by air from Honolulu, Hawaii during August 22 through 24, 2004.

Further investigation established that food from the defendant, Gate Gourmet, Inc.’s, Honolulu, Hawaii location, was the common link between the airlines and the cluster of persons ill with the genetically identical strain of Shigella sonnei. On February 25 and 26, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspected the Gate Gourmet, Inc., facility located at 324 Rodgers Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii, which provides food and beverage service to various airlines at Honolulu Airport. By letter to the defendant’s Chairman and CEO dated April 21, 2005, FDA District Director Barbara Cassens noted that, “The observations made during the inspection revealed that your facility is in violation of the Public Health Service Act and the Interstate Conveyance Sanitation regulations.”

The District Director’s letter listed a litany of violations:

•Perishable food holding temperature violations: “Cooked turkey placed in the refrigerator at 10:30 a.m. showed a temperature of 98° F at 2:50 p.m. . . . Cooked pork placed in the refrigerator at 10:00 a.m. showed a temperature of 87° F at 2:53 p.m.”
•Pest and vermin violations: “Your firm failed to construct and maintain your facility to be free from flies and other vermin.” Also, “in the pot wash area, salad area and hallways were dirty uncovered trash cans and trash carts with fruit flies and cockroaches in and near them.”
•Equipment maintenance and cleanliness violations: “Handles of all refrigeration units were dirty and sticky with old food residue build up . . . The reach-in refrigerator had mold growing on the windows . . . [and] A pink slimy substance was dripping onto the conveyor at the ‘clean end’ of the pot washing machine.”
•Bare-handed contact with ready-to-serve items: “Specifically, ice used for drinking came into contact with employees’ bare hands while being loaded into bags.”

Food Poisoning Lawsuit Filed Against San Diego Restaurant

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 10:00:00 -0800

MARLER CLARK PRESS RELEASE

SAN DIEGO, CA (September 13, 2006) – A lawsuit was filed today against Filiberto’s, the Arizona restaurant chain whose restaurant located at 3446 University Avenue in San Diego was traced as the source of a food poisoning outbreak in late August, 2006. The lawsuit was filed in San Diego County Superior Court on behalf of Nicole Lewis, a San Diego resident who ate at the restaurant and subsequently became ill with Shigellosis, an illness caused by ingestion of the Shigella bacterium. Ms. Lewis is represented by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm that has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness, and Keeney, Waite & Stevens, a respected San Diego law firm.

On September 1, 2006, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (SDHHS) and the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health announced that they were working together to investigate an apparent Shigella outbreak among customers who had eaten at the University Avenue Filiberto’s. The restaurant was closed on August 31, and according to a news release issued by SDHHS , at least ten people had become ill with apparent Shigella infections after eating at Filiberto’s in late August, three of whom were hospitalized.
]]> According to the complaint, Ms. Lewis became ill with symptoms of Shigellosis the day after being exposed to the Shigella bacterium at Filiberto’s. She experienced painful abdominal cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea – all symptoms of Shigella infection. Ms. Lewis has missed weeks of work, as she has been unable to return to work since submitting a stool sample that cultured positive for Shigella.

“We filed this lawsuit because restaurants have a duty to serve food that is fit for human consumption,” said William Marler, attorney for Ms. Lewis. “Clearly, food contaminated with Shigella, a potentially deadly foodborne pathogen, does not fit that description.”

BACKGROUND: Marler Clark has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks. The firm recently filed a Shigella lawsuit against Gate Gourmet, Inc., a Honolulu, HI airline caterer that supplied Shigella-contaminated food for several airlines with flights departing Honolulu in August, 2004. See www.shigellalitigation.com for more information on Shigella litigation.

Contact Suzanne Schreck for more information about the lawsuit that was filed. sschreck@marlerclark.com or (206) 346-1879.

Gate Gourmet Shigella Litigation

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:52:34 -0800

Marler Clark commenced Shigella litigation against Gate Gourmet, a catering company that supplied Shigella-contaminated food to several airlines with flights departing from the Honolulu, Hawaii airport. The firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of a man who became ill in September 2004 after consuming a meal on board a return flight from Hawaii. Several hundred illnesses have been reported in over 22 States and at least three foreign countries. Marler Clark filed a second lawsuit on behalf of seven more ill individuals on June 22, 2005.

Filiberto's restaurant named as source of Shigella outbreak

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Attorney) — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 08:27:36 -0800

ACCORDING TO THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE ON September 2, 2006:

The San Diego county health department has shut down a fast-food Mexican restaurant after 10 customers came down with a bacterial infection. Filiberto's restaurant at 3446 University Ave. was closed Thursday and will remain closed until the health problems are addressed, the county Health and Human Services Agency said.

The agency said 10 customers who ate at Filiberto's Aug. 24-28 came down with what appears to be the food-borne bacteria Shigella, which causes fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. It is infectious. Three of the 10 were hospitalized with serious symptoms, county public health officer Dr. Nancy Bowen said.

Shigella is a bacterium that can cause sudden and severe diarrhea (gastroenteritis) in humans. Shigellosis is the name of the disease that Shigella causes. The illness is also known as “bacillary dysentery.” Shigella bacteria can infect the intestinal tract after the ingestion of relatively few organisms. This is why shigellosis is the most communicable of the bacterial-induced diarrheas.

Marler Clark has been involved in litigation on behalf of victims of numerous Shigella outbreaks. For more information on prior outbreaks, see http://www.marlerclark.com/news-shigella.htm. We have been contacted by 2 of the 10 customers of this San Diego Shigella outbreak.

FOOD POISONING LAWYER - FOOD POISONING ATTORNEY

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 18:20:47 -0800

William Marler (Bill) is the managing partner in the law firm Marler Clark L.L.P., P.S. Since 1993, Bill has represented thousands of victims of E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Listeria, Shigella, Campylobacter and Norovirus illnesses in over thirty States.

Food poisoning lawsuits against companies responsible for introducing contaminated food into our food supply have become the focus of Billís professional career as an attorney. Billís first client who was injured after consuming contaminated food was nine-year-old Brianne Kiner, who fell with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome after eating a contaminated hamburger during the now-infamous Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak of 1993. Bill negotiated a $15.6 million settlement for Brianneís injuries, a record in the State of Washington for personal injury cases. He resolved several other cases from the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak for over $2.5 million each.

Bill, known as the ìE. coli lawyer,î has since represented thousands of people sickened or killed in outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other food borne pathogens, including Salmonella, Hepatitis, Shigella, Campylobacter, Norovirus, and Listeria. In 1998, he negotiated a reported $12 million settlement for the families of children who fell ill after drinking E. coli-contaminated apple juice sold by Odwalla; and in 2001, a jury awarded the families of eleven children Bill represented $4.6 million for the injuries they received during an E. coli outbreak traced to school lunch served at Finley Elementary School in Finley, Washington. He also resolved dozens of E. coli cases in 2003 related to one of the largest meat recalls in United States history. Bill recently settled an E. coli case in New York for a young girl for $11 million. Bill was also able to secure a $6.25 million settlement on behalf of a client who suffered a kidney transplant as part of the Chi-Chiís Hepatitis A outbreak.

]]>Bill has also been lead counsel in litigation stemming from the following:

Seneca Lake State Park Cryptosporidium Outbreak
Dole Lettuce E. coli Outbreak
Sheetz Salmonella Outbreak
Paramount Farms Salmonella Outbreak
Sequoias Portola Valley E. coli Outbreak
Gold Coast Produce E. coli Outbreak
Golden Corral Salmonella Outbreak
Habanero's E. coli Outbreak
Chili's Salmonella Outbreak
Peninsula Village E. coli Outbreak
Harmony Farms Salmonella Outbreak
Clarkston Quality Inn Salmonella Outbreak
KFC Salmonella Outbreak
Spokane Produce - E. coli Outbreak
Emmpak E. coli Outbreak
King Garden E. coli Outbreak
BJ's E. coli Outbreak
ConAgra E. coli Outbreak
Brook-Lea Salmonella Outbreak
Kunick Salmonella Outbreak
Western Sizzlin' Salmonella Outbreak
Shipley Sales Salmonella Outbreak
Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel Norwalk Outbreak
Robeson School District E. coli Outbreak
Abbott Cheese Listeria Outbreak
Black Forrest Salmonella Outbreak
Bauer Meat E. coli Outbreak
Malt-O-Meal Salmonella Outbreak
Golden Corral E. coli Outbreak
Sun Orchard Salmonella Outbreak
Subway Hepatitis A Outbreak
San Antonio Taco Salmonella Outbreak
Karl Ehmer E. coli Outbreak
Supervalu E. coli Outbreak
Linh's Bakery Salmonella Outbreak
McDonalds Hepatitis A Outbreak
China Buffet E. coli Outbreak
Royal Fork Shigella Outbreak
Kentucky Fried Chicken E. coli Outbreak
D'Angelo's Hepatitis A Outbreak
Viva Mexico Shigella Outbreak
Sizzler E. coli Outbreak
Carl's Jr. Hepatitis A Outbreak
Wendy's E. coli Outbreak
Senor Felix Shigella Outbreak
Excel E. coli Outbreak

Bill speaks frequently on issues of safe food and formed Outbreak, Inc., a non-profit business dedicated to training companies on how to avoid food borne diseases. He has been chosen by the attorneys of the State of Washington as a ìSuper Lawyer,î he has an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys. He is married to Julie Marler and they have three daughters, Morgan, Olivia and Sydney. Bill is a past board member of the Washington State Trial Lawyers, a member of the board of directors of Bainbridge Youth Services, and a member of the Children's Hospital Circle of Care. He is involved in numerous other civic and political causes.

Shigella Legal Cases

marler@marlerclark.com (Shigella Lawyer) — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 14:23:39 -0800

Washington: Royal Fork Shigella Litigation

Marler Clark sued a Mount Vernon restaurant over a food-borne intestinal infection outbreak that sickened at least nine people in January. The civil suit against the Royal Fork was filed last week in Skagit County Superior Court on behalf of Sandra and Lester Hemmingson of Mount Vernon. Sandra Hemmingson was hospitalized for three days and has still not recovered fully from the Shigella outbreak.

Shigellosis is caused by the Shigella bacteria, and is more commonly known as dysentery. Typical symptoms include abdominal pain, stomach cramps, fever, vomiting, bloody diarrhea and rectal spasms. The outbreak was traced back to a female food service worker at the restaurant, who failed to properly wash her hands after using the bathroom.

Multistate Outbreak: Viva Mexico Shigella Litigation

Marler Clark filed suit on behalf of Suzie and Hector Lapuyade in San Mateo County Superior Court against Viva Mexico. Lab tests confirmed that Suzie Lapuyade, 40, and her 9-year-old son, Maurice, contracted shigellosis, a gastrointestinal disease that spreads through bacteria-tainted food. County health officials closed Viva Mexico as more than 250 diners became sick during the last 10 days of October. Lab tests confirm at least 45 cases of shigellosis, but the Lapuyades are the first to file suit.

Multistate Outbreak: Senor Felix Shigella Litigation

An outbreak of shigellosis in Washington and six other Western states stemming from a contaminated Mexican-style dip has developed into a major epidemic of food-borne illness. More than 335 people in Washington, California, Oregon, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona and Alaska have had confirmed or suspected cases of the bacterial illness, characterized by severe diarrhea, nausea, fever and stomach cramps.

The outbreak is linked to several products of Senor Felix Gourmet Mexican Foods of Baldwin Park, Calif. A class-action lawsuit was filed by Marler Clark alleging negligence by the dip company.