E Coli Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark Law Firm : E. coli Blog

One thing that has always struck us as odd is the difference between the way society treats individual versus corporate wrongdoing.   Take for example, someone who has one drink too much and then drives, ending up causing serious injury or death to someone else.

Rightly or wrongly, our laws--both criminal and civil--will devastate that irresponsible driver.  Jail, loss of job, civil judgments that take everything the irresponsible individual has are common.

When, however, an irresponsible corporation causes someone serious injury or death, the impact on the business usually isn't that much.

Take for example the  two Utah women, clients of Marler Clark, that earlier this week sued Wendy's in federal court in Salt Lake City.    Wendy's corporate has been well aware of the very serious injuries suffered by the two women since they had the misfortune of being customers in June 2006.

Yet,  is Wendy's worried about being ruined by this litigation.   Hardly.  In one of its recent filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) it said;

The Company and its subsidiaries are parties to various legal actions and complaints arising in the ordinary course of business. Many of these are covered by the Company’s self-insurance or other insurance programs. Reserves related to the resolution of legal proceedings are included on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets, as a liability in Accrued expenses—Other. It is the opinion of the Company that the ultimate resolution of such matters will not materially affect the Company’s financial condition or earnings.

The 6,645 unit Wendy's chain is being sold to Atlanta-based Triarc Companies, Inc. for a mere $2.56  billion.  Triarc is controlled by Atlanta billionaire Nelson Peltz and already runs the 3,700 unit Arby's chain.   The whole deal is suppose to close in the second half of the year.

It's good to know that the little lawsuits brought by Lesiel Calvert and her husband, who live in Weber County, and Megan Richards and her husband, who live in Cache County, won't get in the way of one corporate giant eating another.

Their attorney-- Bill Marler --says all the women did was eat bad lettuce served up by Wendy's in North Ogden, Utah and  then became so sick that they had to remain in the hospital for weeks.  Its these two women who've been devastated,  while Wendy's--the perpetrator--has been busy counting its billions.

A story on the filing of the lawsuit against Wendy's can be found  here.

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Canada has issued a border-to-border  "Health Hazard Alert" over ground beef that may be contaminated with E coli O157:H7.

This  "Health Hazard Alert" in Canada is pretty much like a recall in the United States, except there isn't much focus on returning the product nor on how much meat is actually involved.  Still, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in both English and French is saying: "Do not consume this ground beef!" - "Ne pas manger cette viande hachée!"

The frozen ground beef involved is Belmont Meat Products Ltd. distributed by Costco Wholesale in Ontario and Steakhouse Beef Burgers distributed across Canada by M&M Meat Shops.

Costco sells 10 pound restaurant Packs from Belmont Meat stamped with the number 853629 and M&M Meat Shops sell the Steakhouse Beef Burgers in 2.25 pound packages marked with PLU #188.

Some fresh ground beef was sold at three local markets in Ontario between March 13 and 21, 2008 might have also been contaminated.

No illnesses have yet been connected to Canada's E. coli Alert.

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Omaha's Midlands News Service is reporting on a private party in March that went bad, giving many of the guests a bad bout of E. coli. Site of the gathering was Sarpy County, which makes up the southern edge of Omaha's metro area. Midlands' Michael O'Connor reports:

State health officials are continuing to investigate an E. coli outbreak in Sarpy County that sickened 14 people -- including a 7-year-old -- and sent four people to the hospital.

Dr. Tom Safranek, state epidemiologist, said the outbreak was caused by roast beef served at a reception hall in Sarpy County for a private gathering on March 26. The meat was prepared at a person's home and brought to the event, he said.

He declined to say specifically where the meal was served or what the gathering was for.

The people affected ranged in age from 7 to 73. The four people who were hospitalized were released several weeks ago, he said.

All of the people affected suffered abdominal cramping, diarrhea and in some cases bloody diarrhea, Safranek said.

Safranek said he believes the E. coli problem was contained to the roast beef served at the Sarpy County gathering. He said there currently is no evidence that people who have purchased or eaten roast beef in Nebraska are at risk.

The Midlands News Service story can be found here.

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E. coli O157:H7 was identified for the first time at the CDC in 1975, but it was not until seven years later, in 1982, that E. coli O157:H7 was conclusively determined to be a cause of enteric disease. Following outbreaks of foodborne illness that involved several cases of bloody diarrhea, E. coli O157:H7 was firmly associated with hemorrhagic colitis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 1999 that 73,000 cases of E. coli O157:H7 occur each year in the United States. Approximately 2,000 people are hospitalized, and 60 people die as a direct result of E. coli O157:H7 infections and complications. The majority of infections are thought to be foodborne-related, although E. coli O157:H7 accounts for less than 1% of all foodborne illness.

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M.L. Johnson, writing in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, charts the rapid growth in Raw Milk dairies and she took time to speak with Bill Marler, the Seattle attorney representing children damaged by rural America's money making scheme.  She writes:

Seattle attorney Bill Marler is suing Organic Pastures, the nation's largest organic raw milk dairy, on behalf of two children who fell ill after consuming its products. Testing at the dairy farm near Fresno, Calif., did not detect the strain of E. coli that sickened the children, but a government report said the dairy was likely responsible.

Marler, who has sued other dairies as well, criticized states for bowing to pressure from farmers and allowing raw milk sales to go on - legally or not.

"My worry is that as it becomes more acceptable and becomes more commercialized, you know, it will reach a critical mass where all of the sudden you're going to get a whole bunch of little kids poisoned," Marler said. "And then everybody will throw up their arms and go, 'Whoa, we've got to stop this, we've got to pasteurize.'"

The rise in dairies that do not bother to pasteurize their milk is striking.  With claims of cure-all powers for Raw Milk,  Johnson reports that Washington State has seen the number of its Raw Milk operators grow to 22 , up from six in two years.   Raw Milkers in Massachusetts have more than doubled in five years, reaching 24.

And there is no doubt about the cure-all claims they are making as evidenced by this poster from Organic Pastures.   For the rest of Ms. Johnson's story, go here.

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Next week, the Food Safety & Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is  putting  reducing the Incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in Raw Beef on the menu in meetings with its many stakeholders.

The public sessions will be held on Wednesday, April 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday, April 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Georgetown, 2101 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC.

William Marler, managing partner at Marler Clark, L.L.P., speaks at 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, April 9.   The entire two-day agenda can be found here.

Individuals are encouraged to pre-register to attend in person or via teleconference, and should visit www.fsis.usda.gov or contact Sheila Johnson at (202) 690-6498 or by e-mail at Sheila.Johnson@fsis.usda.gov.  There will be opportunities for public comment on both days.

Foodproductiondaily.com recently reported:

Dr. Richard Raymond, US under secretary for food safety, said that despite major advances in battling foodborne illnesses like E-coli in the country during the last decade, reduction levels have recently levelled out.

"It is time for another series of bold, strong moves based on knowledge and science to produce further significant reductions in illnesses attributed to the products we regulate," he stated. "We aim to prevent and not just respond to illnesses, and consumers, industry and our public health partners are critical partners in our long term strategy and we look forward to our continuing collaborative relationship to ensure food safety."

That story can be foundhere.

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We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about recalls lately. We know its not true, but by their combined actions, we sometimes cannot help but thinking the food industry and its regulators are in cahoots to drag out recalls and confuse the public.

When it became apparent that about one third of the 143 million pounds of beef recalled from the ill-fated Chino slaughterhouse was in the meat lockers of the nation’s public schools, we thought about local taxpayers getting stuck with the disposal costs.

It appears we were not alone in thinking about recall costs. David Mitchell, writing for www.ThePacker.com, says Wal-Mart has told its suppliers that they will, in the future, be charged by the giant discount chain for its costs to participate in a recall. The minimum charge would be $20 per store. Wal-Mart’s 2,500 stores would add up to a minimum charge of $50,000.

Mitchell writes that:

“It’s not a big surprise,” said one Wal-Mart supplier, who requested anonymity. “To be honest, other chains have things that are similar.”

The source said that retailers often have provisions in their supplier agreements that allow for such charges, but fees often go uncollected in the case of products recalled because of minor defects, such as labeling errors.

He said retailers do level assessments against suppliers in more damaging cases, such as the 2006 E. coli outbreak linked to spinach.

Go here for the rest of Mitchell's report.

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An isolated case in an isolated place where no one has had E coli in four years.   However, 8-year old Evie Hope Wray of Theodosia, MO was a confirmed E coli case; one that evolved into Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS),   And HUS killed Evie, who was a soccer and cat-loving second-grader at Lutie Elementary School.

The farm, where she lived with her parents and brother, has well-water that was found to be clean and safe.   Ozark health officials are tying to find out where Evie was exposed to E. coli, but say its really difficult with an isolated case.

KSPR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Springfield, MO is telling the sad story.  They report that:

When this close-knit family's youngest daughter became horribly ill, it was devastating.
“Her vitals started dropping… they hooked her up to oxygen and when that didn’t work, they had her on all kinds of drips,” Evie’s dad Tom Wray remembers.

She was diagnosed with a serious strain of E. Coli, but it was HUS that caused her death.
With no way to treat the infection, doctors could merely provide dialysis to support her failing kidneys and sedatives to reduce her pain.

“She was on about seven different machines. I just touched her and said, ‘momma’s here.’” Evie passed away at a Columbia hospital, surrounded by people who loved her.
But those people are still haunted by how- how did this happen?

For more on Evie, go here.

Evie Hope Wray

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The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety & Inspection Service is hosting a public meeting on April 9, 2008 titled: E. coli O157:H7 - Addressing the Challenges, Moving Forward With Solutions.

FSIS will sponsor the public meeting focused on E. coli O157:H7.  "The purpose of the meeting is to have a discussion with stakeholders on recent spikes in recalls/illnesses related to E. coli O157:H7, provide updates on FSIS initiatives and build a foundation for establishing solutions to address the challenges this pathogen causes," the agency statement said.

More information on the meeting, including the agenda, will be made available in future issues of the FSIS Constituent Update. Also, be sure to check the Meetings and Events page of FSIS' Web site here for updates.

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