Additional, compelling epidemiological and microbiological evidence points to Aunt Mid’s lettuce as the source of the E. coli outbreak. According to James McCurtis, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Community Health, Aunt Mid’s lettuce is the only kind delivered to the Lenawee County Jail (5 inmates sickened) and the two restaurants in Illinois where the outbreak-strain of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria was found.

Our law firm has a national reputation in this area, and we handle E. coli cases throughout the United States. We are currently handling a number of E. coli cases, including cases involving hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). To contact the firm, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free), email our lawyers or submit our online consultation form on this page for a free consultation.

The Michigan Department of Community Health has also identified Aunt Mid’s Produce Company as a distributor of iceberg lettuce consumed by Michigan residents who have been diagnosed with E. coli O157:H7.

The health departments’ findings that people who were sickened ate Aunt Mid’s lettuce is epidemiological evidence that associates Aunt Mid’s with the Michigan-Illinois E. coli outbreak.

For information on the legal rights of E. coli victims, distributor liability, restaurant liability and an Aunt Mid’s lawsuit, please contact our law firm at 1-888-377-8900, email our lawyers or submit our online consultation form found on this page.

Posted October 2008 on E. coli Lawyer.

• 7 students at MSU
• 3 students at Michigan University
• 5 inmates at Lenawee County Jail
• 3 people in Macomb County
• 2 people in Wayne County
• 2 people in Kent County
• 1 person in St. Clair County
• 1 person in Oakland County

Health officials have genetically linked the Michigan E. coli cases with E. coli cases in Illinois, New York, Ohio and Oregon.

Health officials do not know the source of the E. coli, and investigations are ongoing. According to WILX-TV, however, the source may be food from a commercial distributor:

There’s speculation the food came from a commercial distributor, so MSU says, as a precaution, they’ve removed frozen turkey and particular produce items from their cafeteria for the time being.

Eight of the nine people hospitalized in this E. coli outbreak were Michigan students. E. coli infections can develop into hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), one of the leading causes of kidney failure.

Read more about this Michigan State University and University of Michigan E. coli Outbreak.

One man has died, four children have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (three of them are on dialysis and fighting to recover), at least 50 people have been hospitalized and at least 23 others have been sickened but not hospitalized.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health is focusing its investigation on the Country Cottage restaurant, looking at all possible scenarios that could have led to so many people being sickened by food served there.

For information about a Country Cottage lawsuit, please contact our law firm: call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free), email attorney Fred Pritzker, or submit the form on this page for a free consultation

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The worrisome aspect of this outbreak is that, so far, 3 people have developed symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is the leading cause of acute kidney failure in children and can lead to numerous other complications such as central nervous system damage, hypertension, chronic kidney failure, and a host of other gastroenterological symptoms. The mortality rate of HUS is between 3-7% and up to 50% among the elderly. The ages of the victims in the Georgia outbreak have not been released.

If you have recently eaten at The Barbecue Pit in Moultrie, Georgia, or have been diagnosed with symptoms of E. coli O157:H7, here are some symptoms of HUS to look for:

• Non-bloody diarrhea
• Abdominal Cramping
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Low or no fever

Symptoms usually begin to show 3-7 days after the bloody diarrhea associated with typical E. coli O157:H7 occurs.

If you have symptoms of HUS after an E. coli O157:H7 infection, please visit a doctor immediately as it is a potentially life-threatening illness.

If you plan on seeking damages for your illness, you should the nationally known and respected E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker. The law firm of Pritzker | Ruohonen has recovered millions for victims of E. coli outbreaks. Call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or submit our free case consultation form (top right corner).

June 25, 2008 – State departments of health and agriculture in Michigan and Ohio, CDC, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. To date, 32 confirmed cases have been linked both epidemiologically and by molecular fingerprinting to this outbreak, 15 in Michigan and 17 in Ohio. Onset of illness in these patients occurred from 5/30/08 to 6/11/08. Fourteen ill persons have been hospitalized. One patient has developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). No deaths linked to the outbreak have been reported. Twenty (62%) of patients are female. Patients range in age from 4 to 78 years with a median age of 21 years.

Kroger ground beef has been linked to the this E. coli outbreak. State health and agriculture departments have tested ground beef recovered from patient residences and purchased at Kroger® retail stores in Michigan and Ohio. Molecular fingerprinting testing conducted by the Ohio and Michigan Departments of Health and Agriculture Laboratories, in collaboration with PulseNet, the national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, on E. coli O157 isolates isolated from ground beef samples have confirmed the isolates to be the outbreak strain of E. coli O157.

Analysis of the case-control study data indicates a significant association between illness among case patients and eating ground beef purchased at at one of several Kroger® Co. stores in Michigan and Ohio. CDC has provided these results to the USDA-FSIS and public health agencies in Michigan and Ohio.

A recall has been announced for ground beef sold at Kroger® Co. Stores in Michigan and Ohio. The products subject to recall include all varieties and weights of ground beef products bearing a Kroger label sold between May 21 and June 8 at Michigan and Columbus and Toledo, Ohio Kroger retail establishments. These ground beef products also include a sell-by date between “05/21/08″ and “06/08/08.”

The epidemiological and microbiological evidence of that Kroger ground beef is linked to the outbreak can be used in a Kroger E. coli lawsuit seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress and other damages. We have used both epidemiological and microbiological evidence to successfully prove “causation,” an element of an E. coli lawsuit that looks at whether the suspected food product was the actual cause of the victim’s E. coli infection and related complications, including hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is one of the leading causes of kidney failure (renal failure).

We have recovered compensation for victims of E. coli outbreaks involving grocery stores. We have also recently recovered amounts for families of people who died from E. coli and HUS. Contact us regarding our experience with E. coli litigation, grocery store liability, a Kroger E. coli lawsuit and any other issue that you would want to discuss with an E. coli lawyer.

Contact a Pritzker | Ruohonen lawyer:

• Call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free);
• Submit our free case consultation form (top of right column); or
• Email our lawyers.

Pritzker | Ruohonen & Associates, P.A. represents foodborne illness survivors in cases throughout the United States.

For those who were sickened, it is important for others, especially the church family, to understand that they are really sick and need support and prayers, even after they return home from the hospital. We monitor meat recalls and E. coli outbreaks, so we would recommend that people not use ground beef in meals for the families.

Those who were sickened and their families have medical bills, lost earnings and other damages, and they should be compensated for these losses. However, pursuing a claim against one’s church is not something everyone is willing to do. That may not be necessary. If the food responsible for the E. coli poisoning is pinpointed, an E. coli lawyer can pursue claims against the manufacturer, distributor and others connected with that food product.

Even if a food source if pinpointed, it will probably be in the sickened individual’s best interests to pursue a claim against the church. Given that churches generally have insurance to cover liabilities like this, pursuing a claim against a church should not be viewed an assault against the church. Pursuing a claim against the church may be the only way to get to the insurance money. Sadly, this is how the system works. Any lawsuit against the church should not be taken personally by the members of the church. We are sensitive to situations like this and have dealt with this issue before.

While health officials work to track down the food product, those sickened and their families may want to contact an experienced E. coli lawyer regarding what can be done to protect legal rights. To contact a lawyer at our law firm, please call toll-free at 1-999-377-8900 or submit the firm’s free case consultation form.

“These illnesses represent yet another breakdown in a system which seems incapable of protecting the public from contaminated food,” stated Mr. Olsen. “We believe there are other victims out there who have not yet come forward.”

The Waterloo Cedar-Falls Courier reported on the lawsuit:

Represented by attorney Elliot Olsen of Minneapolis, Bellis filed her suit against CMT Inc., which operates the Taco John’s restaurant at 6210 University Ave., in Black Hawk County District Court earlier this month.

Two other suits against Taco John’s were filed in federal court in December 2006 and have since been settled.

According to court records, Bellis had two soft-shell tacos with lettuce at the Cedar Falls store Nov. 30.

On Dec. 4, she had abdominal cramps, which progressed to bloody diarrhea, vomiting and extreme dehydration. She spent two day in the hospital after an emergency room visit, records state.

Workers at the Black Hawk County Health Department determined she had tested positive E. coli bacteria and concluded she became sick as a result of her Taco John’s meal.

CMT is based in South Dakota and operates Taco John’s in Cedar Falls.

Officials said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the E. coli strain was traced to growers in California, and some 81 people in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin were infected.

In Black Hawk County, 33 people became ill with E. coli infections, and 14 were hospitalized.

To contact Elliot Olsen, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900, email Elliot, or submit the firm’s free case consultation form. Read more about the Iowa E. coli outbreak linked to Taco John’s on our website.

Ethanol production has greatly increased with the increasing demand for the use of ethanol as a fuel additive. This demand has driven up the price of corn which makes distillers grain much more affordable for cattle producers to use as feed. Researchers have been testing for a correlation between the use of distillers grain and E. coli 0157:H7 for a few years already. According to the Des Moines Register:

Researchers at Kansas State University noticed the possible E. coli connection to distillers grains in 2005. A second study found a twofold increase in E. coli levels in cattle fed the product compared with those that ate only corn. Research at the University of Nebraska showed mixed results. Cattle fed a diet comprising 10 percent to 30 percent distillers grains actually had lower rates of E. coli than cattle on a diet of all corn. But cattle fed 40 percent to 50 percent distillers grains showed higher E. coli rates.

The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska is currently conducting a large scale experiment to get to the bottom of this issue. According to the Associated Press:

The research involves 600 cattle. Half are being fed a traditional grain feed and half are being fed distiller’s grain. The research will wrap up in June after the cattle have been sold for slaughter and samples of their carcasses have been collected.

The cattle fed with distillers grains receive a diet of 40 percent distillers grains. The research will be a valuable insight into both the beef and ethanol industry. The study hopes to gain a greater understanding of E. coli 0157:H7 so that its dangerous effects can be prevented. The bacteria can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea that may turn bloody within one to three days. It can also be lethal to the elderly, children, and those with weak immune systems.

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services and the California Department of Public Health connected the six cases of E. coli O157:H7 through the PulseNet database of E. coli O157:H7 genetic “fingerprints,” a national database used to track E. coli outbreaks. (PulseNet also tracks other foodborne pathogens.)

Rochester Meat Company E. coli Recall: In response to this E. coli outbreak, Rochester Meat Company has recalled about 188,000 pounds of ground beef. The recalled Rochester Meat Company ground beef products were produced on October 30, 2007, and November 6, 2007. They were shipped to distributors nationwide for further distribution to restaurants and food service institutions.

The recalled Rochester Meat Company ground beef products were not available for purchase by consumers in retail establishments. Read more about the Rochester Meat Company recall and lawsuit.