Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Hartmann Dairy Lawsuit

Milk Food PoisoningThis year (2010) Minnesota health officials have linked outbreaks of E. coli, campylobacteriosis and criptosporidiosis to raw milk and other raw dairy products from the Hartmann Dairy Farm in Gibbon, MN, Sibley County. Our law firm is investigatiing these outbreaks. To contact Pritzker Olsen law firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), (612)338-0202 (local) or submit our online form for a free consultation regarding a Hartmann Dairy lawsuit.

Campylobacter and Criptosporidium Linked to
Hartmann Dairy Farm in Gibbon MN

According to epidemiologists with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), four people are infected with Cryptosporidium parvum, a parasite that causes cryptosporidiosis, and three people are infected with a bacterium called Campylobacter jejuni, which can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

The cases were reported to MDH by health care providers as required under Minnesota law. The investigation into these outbreaks found evidence linking the illnesses to Hartmann Dairy Farm:

  • Epidemiological Evidence: When MDH contacted the individuals to inquire about potential causes of their illnesses (a routine public health practice designed to identify likely causes of illness in order to prevent future illnesses) the ill people reported that they had consumed raw milk. Those who named a source named the Hartmann farm.
  • Microbiological Evidence: Laboratory tests found that the Campylobacter bacteria and Cryptosporidium parasites in most of the ill people were genetically identical to organisms found in animal and environmental samples taken on the Hartmann farm this past summer.

E. coli Linked to Hartmann Dairy Farm in Minnesota

A Minnesota toddler was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome, and seven others were sickened with E. coli O157:H7. All of these cases have been linked to consumption of products, including raw milk, from the Hartmann Dairy Farm in Gibbon, Minnesota, also referred to as M.O.M.'s. Reports of illness began on May 26, 2010.

Hartmann E. coli PFGE Evidence

Seven of the people sickened, all but one children, had E. coli O157:H7 with the same DNA fingerprint (PFGE). One of the people sickened, an infant living in the same household as one of the earlier five cases, had a confirmed case of E. coli O157:H7, but no stool sample was available for genetic fingerprinting in the MDH lab.

The specific strain of E. coli O157:H7 found in the ill patients has also been found in multiple animals and at multiple sites on the Hartmann farm, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.  As of June 11, 2010, 28 environmental and animal samples obtained by the Minnesota Department of Health from the Hartmann farm have now tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Twenty-six samples had the same DNA fingerprint as the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7. These additional positive samples include environmental samples from the dairy barn where the cows are milked. The DNA fingerprint is unique among the more than 3,000 isolates of E. coli 0157:H7 tested at the Minnesota Department of Health since 1993. This strain of E. coli O157:H7 has not previously been found in Minnesota.

Furthermore, laboratory tests confirmed that cheese samples collected last week from the farm contained another form of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, demonstrating that an ongoing pathway of contamination existed on the farm.

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Attorney Fred Pritzker has ecovered millions of dollars for food poisoning victims, including:

  • Over $3,000,000 for a pregnant woman who lost her unborn twins after contracting a foodborne illness
  • $2,700,000 for the family of an 81-year-old man who died after contracting a foodborne illness
  • Over $1,000,000 for a client who became ill from contaminated ground beef
  • Over $1,000,000 for a client who became ill after eating contaminated deli meat

He is in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America and is on Minnesota Monthly's list of the Best Lawyers in Minnesota.

Contact Attorney Fred Pritzker

Pritzker Olsen law firm has offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our personal injury and wrongful death attorneys practice law throughout MN: Twin Cities, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, Moorhead, Mankato, Brainerd, Bloomington, Eagan, Eden Prarie, Apple Valley, Maple Grove, Edina, Plymouth, Minnetonka, Stillwater, Thief River Falls, Bemidji, Grand Rapids, Austin, Worthington, Woodbury, South St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Roseville, Arden Hills, Burnsville, New Ulm, Brooklyn Park, Forest Lake.


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