Food Lawyer for Outbreak Investigation and Lawsuit

Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker has won millions for victims of foodborne outbreaks. He has appeared on CBS News, Fox News and local TV stations around the country. He has been quoted by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA, Law & Politics and other publications. He has been selected by other lawyers for inclusion in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Mr. Pritzker is one of the few lawyers in the country that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. His cases have involved the following pathogens:

Botulism (caused by Clostridium botulinum)
Campylobacter
E coli O157:H7 and Non-O157 E coli
Hepatitis A
Listeria
Salmonella
Shigella

He is currently representing several people with hemolytic uremic syndrome (E coli HUS), including children. He is also representing a man who contracted Guillain-Barre after drinking raw milk contaminated with Campylobacter. Contact food poisoning attorney Fred Pritzker for a FREE CONSULTATION.

How a Food Lawyer Proves a Food Poisoning Claim

In order to prove a case of foodborne illness, the injured person has to prove the following three elements: 1) the food product was defective, 2) the defect caused illness, and, 3) the person suffered damage as a result of that defect.

Defective Food Product. Any food contaminated with a foodborne pathogen is defective. Ground beef and tenderized steak contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 are considered “adulterated” under federal law. This means that consumers who are sickened by these beef products have a claim against the processor and others even if the consumer cooked the meat at home.
Defect Caused Illness. To prove that contaminated food caused an illness is fairly involved and always starts with a diagnoses of a food poisoning caused by a specific pathogen (Campylobacter, E. coli, Hepatitis A, Listeria, Salmonella or Shigella). To get this diagnosis, a stool sample from the sickened person must test positive for the pathogen. In some cases, a urine or blood sample can be taken for testing.

This should be done before antibiotics or antidiarrheals are used. That’s because antibiotics antidiarrheals may kill off the pathogen before it can be identified. (Note: Antibiotics and antidiarrheals may cause HUS E coli, which can lead to kidney failure.)

Once there is an initial diagnosis, bacterial foodborne pathogens need to be further tested with a technique called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), which provides a genetic pattern of the pathogen involved. Each outbreak has its own PFGE pattern.

Once all of the testing is complete, there must be further evidence implicating a restaurant, food processor or specific food. This can get confusing. The best case is when several people are sickened by a genetically identical strain of pathogen, these people all ate the same food item, and the genetically identical strain of pathogen is found in that specific food item. However, cases can be built around several people getting sick with genetically identical pathogens after eating at the same restaurant even if they did not all eat the same thing and the pathogen was not found in any of the food. Also, if several people are sickened by genetically identical pathogens and they all ate the same food, there may be a case even if the pathogen is not found in any sample of that food.
Economic Calculation of Harm (Damages). The final element is damages – proving what harm resulted from the particular foodborne pathogen responsible for the outbreak. Damages usually consist of the following: medical expenses, cost of care, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability, loss of quality of life.

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Fred Pritzker on Twitter

Chicago Department of Public Health showing power to all fields: http://t.co/FSRcJG9G
Interesting Science Daily story about raw milk http://t.co/MNsGFSAQ
Washington Statewide Cheerleading Competition Spawns Outbreak of Food Poisoning: http://t.co/VgOUf0e3
DePuy ASR Hip Lawsuit: Minnesota Attorney for Cobalt and Chromium Damage http://t.co/3AwAkxWN
DePuy ASR Hip Lawsuit: South Dakota Patients Claim Cobalt and Chromium Poisoning http://t.co/tQVCKVm4
DePuy Hip Lawsuit in North Dakota Can Be Part of Federal Proceeding to Expedite Settlement http://t.co/mtgWdzoA
Portland City Council votes down proposal to post warnings about raw milk dangers at farmers markets http://t.co/3PmCPdmr
Walking Tacos made more than 50 people ill at a Riggs High basketball game in Pierre, S.D.: http://t.co/dfLKI1vB

Fred Pritzker is listed in The Best Lawyers in America

This is attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The result of each case is determined by the specific facts and the applicable law.