What We Do

Foodborne Illness

A&R Bar-B-Q Lawsuit Filed

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

McDonalds Hepatitis A Outbreak Continues to Grow

The hepatitis A outbreak linked to the Milan, Illinois McDonald’s continues to grow with 20 people now diagnosed with hepatitis A. Eleven of them were hospitalized.

The Milan McDonald’s outbreak was allegedly caused by food handlers at the restaurant who were infected with the virus. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, one of the infected employees worked on seven days in July and the other one was diagnosed in June but not reported until July 13.

Hepatitis A is spread through the fecal matter of infected persons. In this case, the infected food handlers allegedly did not wash their hands well enough after having a bowel movement and then touched food that was consumed by McDonald’s patrons.

Restaurants are liable to patrons for illnesses, including hepatitis, caused by food provided by the restaurant. This means that those sickened with hepatitis A after eating at the Milan McDonald’s may have claims for compensation. Compensation for hepatitis A infections depends on the facts and may include the following:

Medical expenses
Lost income
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Disability
Loss of quality of life

Hepatitis A can cause death. In those cases, the families have wrongful death claims against the party responsible for the illness.

If you or a loved one has been sickened in this outbreak, please contact our law firm. We have handled hepatitis A cases and have a national reputation in the area of food poisoning litigation.

Note: For those who ate at the Milan McDonald’s and have not been diagnosed with hepatitis A, the Rock Island County Health Department, with assistance from IPHMAS and the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) and the Illinois Nurse Volunteer Emergency Needs Team (INVENT), is providing free vaccines and immune globulin shots tomorrow, Tuesday July 21, 2009 (vaccines and shots were also administered today):

When: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Additional clinics will be held if needed.
Where: Rock Island High School
1400 25th Avenue, Rock Island, IL
What: Hepatitis A vaccinations and immune globulin will be administered at no charge.
Who: Eligible recipients are those with the following criteria:
Consumed food or beverages at McDonald’s Restaurant in Milan, IL
**** From July 6 through July 10 and July 13 and 14, 2009****
Those eating on July 11 and 12 were not exposed
Those who consumed products from this restaurant during this time period will receive either hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin, not both.
• Ages 1-40 years will receive hepatitis A vaccine
• Under one year of age , and over 40 years of age will receive immune globulin
If the person has previously received two doses of hepatitis A vaccine, no further immunization or immune globulin is necessary – they are already protected from hepatitis A. In addition, if someone has been ill in the past from hepatitis A, they would not become ill from it again – their body would have developed immunity. If a person receives this vaccine/ immune globulin more than 14 days after they have eaten at Milan McDonald’s, it may not provide protection.

Labels: hepatitis A, lawyer, McDonalds

Recent Campylobacter Outbreaks

Colorado Campylobacter Outbreak: On April 7, 2009, the Colorado Dept. of Health has reported 11 cases of Campylobacter (campylobacteriosis) that may be associated with raw milk from Kinikin Corner Dairy in Montrose, Colorado. The Colorado Department of Health is advising consumers not to drink raw milk from Kinikin Corner Dairy at this time. Read about a Kinikin Corner Dairy Campylobacter lawsuit.

Minnesota Campylobacter Outbreak: In March of 2009, The Minnesota Department of Health reported a Minnesota Campylobacter outbreak asociated with Chipotle in Apple Valley. Several people were sickened. We are representing a woman who became seriously ill after eating at the Apple Valley Chipotle. Read about a Minnesota Chipotle Lawsuit.

Labels: Campylobacter, campylobacter lawsuit, food poisoning lawyer, illinois campylobacter, lawyer

Listeria Test Leads to Recall of Packaged Burritos

A Denver company has recalled 172 pounds of 5.3-ounce burritos sold individually in convenience stores Dec. 24 and 25 after tests by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) found they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Home Fresh Sandwich Distributors Inc. made the products Dec. 23. In announcing the recall, the FSIS said no illnesses have been reported.

The recall pertains to 5.3-ounce packages of "7- ELEVEN Fresh to Go BURRITO WITH POTATOES, BACON, EGGS, & MONTEREY JACK CHEESE" with a "Best By" date of "Thursday 1225." The products bear the establishment number "EST. 19496" inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Consumption of food contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially deadly disease. Symptoms include severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea.

While healthy people rarely contract listeriosis, it can cause serious injury or death to infants, the elderly or people who have weakened immune systems. Pregnant women who eat food containing Listeria monocytogenes are at risk for stillbirth and miscarriage.

Labels: lawyer, Listeria, listeria attorney, recall

Food Safety Tips for the Holidays

Clean, separate, cook and chill.

Those are the four basic food safety lessons preached to consumers by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -- especially around the holidays.

The food safety experts at PritzkerOlsen, one of the few law firms in the United States that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation, couldn't agree more.

What follows is a list of reminders on how to keep harmful bacteria from spoiling your holiday feast:

Keep cream pies, cakes with whipped-cream frosting and other creamy deserts well refrigerated.

Purchase produce that is not bruised or damaged.

Do not cross-contaminate, even in the grocery store. Bag meat, poultry and fish separately from fruits, vegetables and other foods that will be eaten uncooked.

Pre-cut or pre-washed produce, such as lettuce, should be rewashed if taken from an open bag in the fridge.

Even if produce is peeled first, it is still important to wash it.

Your refrigerator temperature should be set at 40 degrees, or lower.

Consider using a separate cutting board for raw meats, poultry and seafood.

Do not put cooked meat or fish on any unwashed plate that carried raw meat or fish.

Keep hands washed before and after handling food. Wash with warm water and soap for 20 seconds each time.

Do not rinse raw meat and poultry before cooking because it makes it more likely for bacteria to be spread on kitchen counters.

Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. For a turkey, that means 165 degrees, and that also goes for stuffing inside the bird.

When making your own egg nog, use pasteurized egg products or egg substitutes -- not raw eggs.

Do not feed cookie dough containing raw eggs to yourself or children.

Don't taste food that looks or smells questionable. When in doubt, throw it out.

Don't thaw frozen foods on the kitchen counter. They should be thawed in the refrigerator. If you are in a hurry, thaw under cold running water or in the microwave -- but be sure to cook the food right away.

Labels: FDA, food safety, lawyer

Ohio Firm Recalls Sausage Over Listeria Concern

A company from Youngstown, Ohio, has recalled packages of Sopressata mild sausage after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the product might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

In a press release, the FSIS said late Friday that the product was produced in Canada Oct. 9 and distributed to a lone specialty retailer in Boardman, Ohio. No illnesses had been reported in connection with the finding, which happened in routine test sampling by the FSIS.

DeNiro Cheese of Youngstown said the one-pound packages are stamped with a use-by date of July 9, 2009. The product code is 91009 and the Canadian mark of inspection number is 476A.

When consumed, Listeria monocytogenes can cause Listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease in children, the elderly and people who have weakened immune systems. The pathogen also can cause stillbirth or miscarriage in pregnant women.

Our law firm is one of the few in the nation that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. We have represented several victims of Listeria outbreaks. Contact us regarding our experience in this area by calling toll-free at 1-888-377-8900.

Labels: food safety, lawyer, Listeria, listeria attorney

Melamine Found in Cookies

A Vietnam company has recalled cookies it distributed in the United States after melamine was detected in a sample product tested by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Interfood Shareholding Co. has recalled all lot codes of four varieties of its Wonderfarm brand biscuits sold in 800-gram red tins. The varieties are "Successful,'' "Royal Flavour,'' "Lovely Melody,'' and "Daily Life.''

State testing found that some cookies in the sample batch contained melamine levels that exceeded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limit of 2.5 parts per million.

Melamine is a synthetic chemical with a variety of industrial uses. In what was one of the biggest food safety stories of the year, the chemical was added to baby formula in China by unscrupulous manufacturers who wanted to boost protein readings. More than 50,000 children were sickened in the scandal.

After some food imports to the U.S. started to test positive for melamine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture early this month ordered spot checks on certain foods popular with children.

Labels: food safety, lawyer

Salmonella Linked to Quiznos and Lawsuit Information

We have been contacted by a family that was hospitalized after eating at Quizno's in Rochester, Minnesota. Our Salmonella lawyers are investigating the outbreak. There are ten culture-confirmed cases of Salmonella, and all ten of the people affected ate at Quizno's around the same time. All 10 of the cases involve a matching strain of Salmonella, meaning the genetic fingerprints of Salmonella isolates collected from each of the ten people are identical or nearly identical. Because each Salmonella outbreak has its own, genetically-unique Salmonella strain, all 10 of the people sickened after eating at Quizno's are part of the same outbreak.

Minnesota health officials suspect that tomatoes are the cause of the outbreak but have not yet ruled out other sources of the outbreak. For legal purposes, it is not essential that the food source of an outbreak linked to a restaurant is found. We have recently settled a Salmonella lawsuit against a Minnesota restaurant where the food source of the outbreak was never pinpointed.

Labels: lawsuit, lawyer, minnesota salmonella attorney, Salmonella, tomoatoes

Food Poisoning Lawyer Fred Pritzker has appeared on national television and has been quoted by national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Lawyers USA. He has been named a "Super Lawyer" by Law and Politics magazine. He is also listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America. To contact Fred Pritzker about a food poisoning lawsuit or food safety advocacy, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit the firm's free consultation form.

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