Posts Tagged ‘e. coli outbreaks’

In news that is unfortunately starting to sound all too familiar, another lawsuit has been filed due to E. coli food poisoning. On July 16, 2009, attorneys filed a lawsuit in United States District Court in the Eastern District of Washington against JBS Swift & Company on behalf of a 16-month-old boy who was hospitalized after eating meat products manufactured and distributed by JBS Swift. After consuming the meat, the boy was rushed to the emergency room “writhing in pain” with severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including intense and bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Stool samples revealed an E. coli infections and blood tests showed that he had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of E. coli infection which caused his kidneys to fail. After being hospitalized for three weeks and undergoing dialysis and blood transfusions, the boy was released. However, he still suffers from long-lasting damage from his illness and his kidneys are only functioning at 30% of normal.

The lawsuit is related to an E. coli outbreak in Swift meat products across nine states that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) linked to making at least 23 people sick. As a result of that outbreak, Swift had issued a voluntary recall of 420,000 pounds of beef on June 24, 2009.

E. coli outbreaks, as well as many other food poisoning outbreaks, have become more commonplace in recent years, which is a troubling sign. Consumers must be wary of such foodborne illnesses, and be on the lookout for possible food poisoning symptoms, such as severe diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and severe abdominal cramping. For more information about E. coli lawsuits, contact an E. coli food poisoning lawyer today.