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

Lawyers for parties involved in claims that arose from the 2006 E. coli outbreak traced to contaminated spinach from California's Salinas Valley are meeting this week in the hopes of resolving claims brought by several Marler Clark clients.  Dawn Withers, a reporter with the Salinas Californian, interviewed attorney Bill Marler about the cases he is negotiating this week in a story that appeared in today's paper. 

The cases under negotiation this week involve people sickened in Utah, New York and Wisconsin, Marler said.

The lawyer is negotiating settlements with Dole, Natural Selection Foods and Mission Organics.

Cases involving deaths have been settled, Marler said, while cases involving people who were sickened, but not gravely, are also almost settled. What remains are cases involving people who suffered extreme illness, usually kidney failure or complications, he said.

During the 2006 spinach outbreak, 205 people were confirmed ill with the strain of E. coli responsible for the outbreak, and five people died. Public health agencies ultimately identified the source of the outbreak as Dole-brand baby spinach that was processed at Natural Selections Foods and grown by Mission Organics

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The Associated Press broke the story yesterday that a Wisconsin family's E. coli lawsuit - one stemming from the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak - had been resolved without going to trial.  Dinesh Ramde, AP business writer, wrote:

The agreement was reached in October but not filed in federal court until last week. It still needs approval from a federal judge, which Marler said he is confident will happen.

The national outbreak in September 2006 was traced to tainted spinach produced by Natural Selection Foods LLC. Three people died, including 77-year-old Marion Graff of Manitowoc.

Of the 204 people sickened by the tainted greens, Marler said about 100 have brought a lawsuit. His firm is handling 83 cases and has resolved 51 within the past few months.

On September 14, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a nationwide E. coli outbreak had been associated with the consumption of bagged baby spinach. For fear of E. coli contamination, all bagged spinach was recalled nationwide, and on September 19, 2006, FDA announced that all spinach implicated in the outbreak had been traced back to Natural Selection Foods, a company located in California’s Salinas Valley.

FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 204 E. coli illnesses associated with the spinach E. coli outbreak, including thirty-one cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, 104 hospitalizations, and three deaths. Victims of the E. coli outbreak were identified in 26 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Wisconsin was the state hardest-hit in the outbreak, with 49 confirmed cases of E. coli. Canada reported one confirmed case.

A joint trace back by FDA and the State of California revealed that four spinach fields were the possible source of the E. coli contamination. The outbreak strain of E. coli was isolated from cattle fields nearby the implicated spinach fields, as well as from a wild boar that was killed in one of the fields.

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Both the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times reported on the settlement of two E. coli claims with the Florida Strawberry Festival today.  The claims were settled last week, and approved by a judge on Wednesday. 

The Tampa Tribune provided some background information on the settlements:

Health officials traced the 2005 E. coli outbreak to a petting zoo owned by Plant City-based Ag-Venture Farms, which had brought more than a dozen goats, sheep, cows and chickens to the Florida Strawberry Festival, the Florida State Fair in Tampa and the Central Florida Fair in Orlando.

About 50 people from six counties were sickened at the three events, and 15 filed lawsuits against the petting zoo, Marler said. Those claims were resolved last year when the 15 victims shared a $1 million settlement from an insurance company representing the petting zoo, Marler said.

Petting zoos have not been featured at the Florida Strawberry Festival since the E. coli outbreak two years ago.

The settlement announced Thursday involves lawsuits filed against the strawberry festival. Other suits are pending against the state fair and Central Florida Fair, Marler said.

The St. Petersburg Times provided details on the two victims' illnesses, and noted that claims against the Central Florida Fair and the Florida State Fair are still being pursued:

The single connection among the three fairs was a petting zoo run by Plant City's Ag-Venture Farm Shows that had infected livestock. Ag-Venture had an insurance policy limit of $1-million, which was divided among all of the people who filed claims, Marler said.

The owner of Ag-Venture, Tom Umiker, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Jerry Setchel, said Umiker has lost everything -- his business and his animals. About 16 plaintiffs have settled with Ag-Venture, Setchel said, noting that "the matters were amicably resolved."

Marler, who has worked on thousands of E. coli cases, said his goal is not to shut down petting zoos.

"I understand the '50s, apple pie kind of feelings," he said. "However, the fact of the matter is, these petting zoos and county fairs have been a real big source of illnesses for a number of years. ... This bug is out there, and it's something you have to worry about now. You have to protect the people who are coming to enjoy them."

The Marler Clark Web site provides additional information about the petting zoo E. coli outbreak and resulting litigation.

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