A husband and wife from Memphis who organized and attended a family reunion catered by A&R Bar-B-Q restaurant of Hickory Hill Road in Memphis filed a lawsuit today in Shelby County Circuit Court alleging that the food was contaminated with Salmonella, infecting the man with food poisoning.

Toby and Shandalin Taylor are represented in the lawsuit by national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen, P.A., of Minneapolis. The suit alleges that Toby Taylor is one of more than 24 individuals whom health officials say contracted salmonellosis. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor helped stage the 2009 Harston Family Reunion, which included an A&R-catered picnic July 10 at Shelby Farms Park.

According to the lawsuit, filed by local counsel Jason Whitworth, the menu for the approximately 150 attendees included pork shoulder, chicken, BBQ spaghetti, coleslaw and bread. The exact cause of the outbreak is being investigated by the Tennessee Department of Health and the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department. Toby Taylor was among the sickened attendees whose stool tested positive for Salmonella after he was taken to the hospital to be treated for severe stomach cramps, fever, chills and dehydration from diarrhea.

"This case points to the tragedy of foodborne illness - a joyful event marred by sickness and a business facing significant loss,'' said Fred Pritzker, founder and president of Pritzker Olsen. "There are no winners, only losers.''

The lawsuit alleges negligence and recklessness on the part of the restaurant, which closed for health department review and retraining of workers after public health investigators began to probe complaints from Taylor and others in his extended family. The suit also alleges that the Salmonella contamination violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act.

"The defendant had a duty to ensure that its food products were prepared, handled and served according to safe food-handling practices in order to avoid the spread of food borne infectious agents such as Salmonella,'' the lawsuit said.

For more information, individuals may contact Fred Pritzker at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or email Mr. Pritzker at fhp@pritzkerlaw.com. Pritzker Olsen is one of the few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. The firm is involved as an advocate for victims in practically every major outbreak of food poisoning, including the peanut product Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak late last year and early this year that killed nine people and sickened more than 700.

That outbreak prompted passage this week in the U.S. House of Representatives of sweeping food safety reform. In the peanut product outbreak, Pritzker is representing the families of three women who died from the outbreak strain of Salmonella.


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Media Contact: Fred Pritzker, cell phone 651-592-3733; office 1-888-377-8900 or email fhp@pritzkerlaw.com.

Labels: Bar-B-Q, lawyer, salmonella outbreak lawsuit