Well water tests are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday this week as part of the state of Oklahoma's investigation into last year's E. coli O111 outbreak at Country Cottage restaurant.

In a report issued late last week,the office of Oklahoma Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson said the likely source of the outbreak was poultry waste scattered on fields within a five-mile radius of the restaurant.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health said it hasn't been able to find such a link and an area poultry industry source has called the attorney general's report speculative and "irresponsible.''
The Country Cottage E. coli O111 outbreak was one of the worst food poisoning outbreaks of 2008. One person died and 314 were sickened by the outbreak strain of bacteria. Most who were stricken had eaten at the independent restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma, from Aug. 15 to Aug. 17.

The attorney general's report identified the restaurant's private well as the vehicle for transmission of the pathogen. According to the report, 39 active poultry houses are located within a five-mile radius of the restaurant. Each year, fields in the area are sprinkled with 5,000 to 7,000 tons of chicken litter. The report said E. coli O111 has been found in poultry waste in the past and that the land around the restaurant is at a gradient which provides a pathway for bacterial transport.

Moreover, the restaurant normally uses municipal water. But for two hours each day on Aug. 9 and 10 it switched to well water because pressure dropped in the municipal water supply, according to the AG's report.

Edmondson told the Pryor Daily Times: "The goal is to protect the public. We thought there were questions not being asked and answers not being provided.''

The state health department last year found E. coli contaminants at the restaurant's private well, but not the O111 strain that was active in the outbreak.

The health department's Leslea Bennett-Webb told the Pryor Daily Times that the agency is still investigating.

The attorney general asked the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to ban application of poultry waste in the area around the restaurant, but the request was denied.
The well inspections that are to begin Wednesday will be conducted by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Labels: Country Cottage E coli, Oklahoma E coli

There is no excuse for unsafe and dangerous food products. My professional life is dedicated to holding food producers accountable for the harms and losses they cause by selling poisoned food.

But just as food producers must follow laws and regulations, so must lawyers follow their own professional rules when it comes to soliciting food safety survivors for legal representation.

All lawyers, including food safety lawyers, are required to comply with the Rules of Professional Responsibility. These rules specify what a lawyer can and cannot do in soliciting potential clients. For example, many states allow the lawyer to send a potential client a letter about the lawyer’s services, but no state allows a lawyer to directly contact a potential client. That means it is strictly forbidden for a food safety lawyer to call, visit or ask someone else to call or visit a food outbreak survivor in order to seek representation. Some lawyers try to get around this prohibition by sending out investigators or “runners” to contact potential clients under the guise of “providing information” or “offering assistance.” Whatever the alleged reason, direct or indirect contact is forbidden.

Lawyers are also prohibited from offering something of value to potential clients as an inducement for legal representation. Thus, a lawyer cannot offer goods, money, services or even offer to pay the client’s medical bills in order to induce an attorney-client relationship.

Lawyers are also required to put the client’s interests ahead of their own. For example, some lawyers rush out to find clients, so they can be first to file suit. The real purpose of this practice is usually to attract more clients rather than accomplish anything on behalf of the client for whom the suit is filed. Most ethical lawyers believe it is better to first investigate the case, obtain medical records and reports and understand the client’s losses before rushing to file suit and get publicity.

Your case is judged by the conduct of your lawyer. If he/she violates the rules, you should report the lawyer’s conduct to the Board of Professional Responsibility in the state where the lawyer practices.

Everyone – food producers, food distributors, food sellers and food safety lawyers – have to play by the rules.

Fred Pritzker has over three decades of experience representing survivors of foodborne illness and other unlawful conduct. He has collected millions of dollars on behalf of food safety victims. He is also a civil trial specialist certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Please contact Mr. Pritzker for a free case consultation by email (fhp@pritzkerlaw.com) or telephone (toll-free 1-888-377-8900).

Labels:food safety lawyer, lawsuits, lawyers