Information for People Who Believe They May Have Foodborne Illness But Have Not Received Medical Treatment

We receive many inquiries from people who have or had symptoms of foodborne illness, especially E. coli O157:H7, but did not receive medical treatment or provide a stool sample to test for the presence of E. coli O157:H7.

If you are still having symptoms, you should promptly seek medical attention. You should tell the doctor you are concerned that you have a foodborne illness and ask for the appropriate lab test. In the case of E. coli O157:H7, the appropriate lab test is performed on a sample of your stool. To ensure that the lab does the proper tests, be sure to ask your doctor to specifically request a culture for E. coli O157:H7. If you test positive for E. coli O157:H7 or any other foodborne illness, a lawyer at Pritzker | Olsen, P.A. would be happy to speak with you regarding the next steps you need to take. For a free consultation, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's online consultation form.

If you are no longer symptomatic, testing may not detect the presence of any foodborne illness even though your illness was caused by adulterated food. This is because the agent causing your illness may have already passed from your body or may have been killed off by antibiotics (if you took any).

Whether or not you are tested, if you are still symptomatic, it is important to receive medical attention for your foodborne illness. You may need medication, fluid replacement or other treatment to prevent more serious injury.

If you suspect that you have E. coli O157:H7 or that you are a part of any foodborne illness outbreak, you should contact your state or local health department. They will collect information about your illness and your food exposures and determine if you may be part of an outbreak. You should also let the health department know if you still have any of the suspect food and ask them if they are interested in collecting it for testing. Often state health departments or state agriculture departments will arrange for lab tests on food in outbreak situations. If you would like to discuss your case with one of the lawyers at Pritzker Olsen before contacting the health department, please contact us.

If your symptoms passed or if you test negative for foodborne illness, it may still be possible to prove your illness was caused by adulterated food if you still have some of the suspect food, it is tested, and testing confirms it is contaminated with a foodborne pathogen.

Testing on food samples can be performed at many laboratories across the country. If your health department declines to arrange testing of your food samples, you may want to contact a private lab. Below are links to some of the labs. You will need to make arrangements with the labs and follow their policies and procedures for preparing, sending and paying for tests on the suspected food product. If lab testing confirms the presence of foodborne adulterants, please contact our firm as soon as possible.

The CIDRAP (Center for Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota) website has a comprehensive list of private food testing laboratories. If lab testing confirms that you have been sickened by Campylobactor, E. coli, hepatitis A, Listeria, Salmonella or Shigella, please contact Pritzker | Olsen, P.A..

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