Our law firm is investigating an outbreak of botulism associated with eating prepared food sold at Valley Oak Food and Fuel in Walnut Grove, California. Nacho cheese sauce is a suspected source of the outbreak, according to health officials. Use our free consultation form to contact our firm and talk with one of our food safety lawyers.
Sacramento County Public Health, which made the connection between the illnesses and the gas station, is working closely with the Sacramento County Department of Environmental Management to stop the sale of prepared food items at this location.
Can Outbreak Victims Sue Valley Oak Food and Fuel for Botulism Food Poisoning?
People paralyzed (temporarily or permanently) by food purchased at Valley Oak Food and Fuel in Walnut Grove, CA, have the right to sue for botulism food poisoning. The parties that can be sued depends on the product that caused the outbreak and analysis of all of the evidence obtained in an independent investigation by an experienced lawyer. Our attorneys, who recently won $7.55 million for a person sickened in another outbreak, have the experience needed to help your family sue for compensation and justice. We have won settlements against retailers, food processors, distributors, and others.
A lawsuit gives us the legal tools to obtain corporate and other documents, health department test results, and other evidence. In some cases, this can lead to additional compensation called “punitive damages,” which is an amount of money meant to punish corporate wrongdoers for intentionally selling unsafe food or for being grossly negligent.
Some of the questions that need answers include the following:
- What food product caused the outbreak?
- If it required refrigeration, at what temperature was it refrigerated?
- If it had an expiration date, was it sold past this date?
- Is there any evidence that the product packaging was damaged?
- What company sold the product to Valley Oak Food and Fuel?
- Did a separate company transport the food?
- What companies processed the final food product and each of its ingredients?
- Was Clostridium botulinum found in any unopened food product, in the gas station or in a processing facility?
Contact our attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or use our free consultation form. We are a national food safety law firm. We are not paid unless you win.
Sacramento County Public Health recommends contacting a doctor if the following is true:
- You consumed prepared food from Valley Oak Food and Fuel from April 23, 2017, through today, May 8, 2017; and
- You have symptoms of botulism, including double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness.
Botulism is a serious paralytic illness caused by food contaminated with nerve toxins created by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. It is this toxin that causes botulism, and the illness quickly progresses to paralysis, and if untreated to death. Ingesting even a small amount of toxin can be deadly, so there is zero-tolerance for even trace amounts of it in food.