Marler Clark filed an E. coli lawsuit Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court against the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant, on behalf of Jodi Greer, a Troutdale, Oregon resident who became ill with an E. coli infection after eating at the restaurant’s Gresham store in April 2005.
The complaint states that Ms. Greer suffered severe gastrointestinal symptoms including bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, chills, muscle aches, and fatigue, and was treated at the Providence Portland Medical Center ER 3 days after dining at the Gresham Olive Garden.
She later submitted a stool sample to the Multnomah County Health Department (MCHD) that cultured positive for Enterotoxigenic E. coli — E. coli O169:H41. During their outbreak investigation, the MCHD determined that Ms. Greer was one of at least 18 people who succumbed to E. coli after eating at the Olive Garden.
People don’t go out to eat at a chain restaurant and expect to get sick. Olive Garden owed a duty to Jodi, and to all of its other customers, to sell food that was safe for human consumption, and the restaurant failed to perform that duty.