The Morning Call reports that Taco Bell may be reaching a settlement in their E. coli outbreak class action lawsuit.
“We’ve got a promise from Taco Bell that it will immediately mediate these cases,” said William Marler, who represents 20 clients who say Taco Bell’s food made them ill. “I’m going to sit down with them in the next 30 days and try to resolve them. If we can’t come to an agreement, we can refile the cases. Every indication I’ve had from Taco Bell lawyers is that they want to seriously sit down and get these cases resolved.”
Based on past food poisoning cases he’s successfully argued, Marler believes each victim could receive at least tens of thousands of dollars for medical bills and other damages. He said he has resolved close to $300 million worth of food poisoning cases in 15 years.
Those who may have been hospitalized for a short period and did not develop complications can receive from $25,000 or $30,000 to half a million dollars depending on the severity of the case,” Marler said. ”Any case where someone develops severe health problems could be worth multiple millions of dollars.”
Marler pointed to one ”severe” case in which he claims a Pennsylvania woman was in a coma for at least three days and suffered kidney damage caused by E. coli. That woman is still being cared for by multiple doctors. Marler said the woman suffers from a form of kidney failure known as hemolytic urenic syndrome, which, according to the CDC, is a life-threatening condition that is often treated with blood transfusions and kidney dialysis.