Personal Injury Law

Boyertown woman's lawsuit claims Taco Bell's food was tainted by E. coli. The case, seeking $5 million, alleges a Boyertown woman went into a coma after eating at a Taco Bell in Gilbertsville.

By Bill Marler, Esq.

Had a nice chat today with Darrin Youker of the Reading Eagle about how Ms. Moyer has been forced to the middle in a fight between two corporations and their insurance companies:

A Boyertown woman has sued the parent company of Taco Bell for $5 million, claiming she was sickened by E. coli after eating contaminated food at the chain’s Gilbertsville restaurant.  Debra Moyer, who sued Yum! Brands Inc. earlier this month, was among more than 70 people across the country who claimed they were sicked by contaminated food served by Taco Bell in 2006.  William Marler, a Seattle-based attorney who litigates E. coli cases, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.  Moyer spent more than a month in the hospital and was in a coma for a week after she became sick in November 2006, Marler said Thursday.  Moyer, 48, has suffered permanent kidney damage and will require life-long treatments, Marler said.  The suit is seeking $5 million for past and future medical expenses, he said.

"A lot of people as sick as Debbie frankly don’t survive," Marler said. "She has made pretty good strides in her recovery."

Marler, who is representing about a dozen other E. coli victims across the country, said he tried to settle the claims with Taco Bell out of court.  However, he said, the company is in a dispute with the supplier of the lettuce believed to be the source of the contamination.

"Ms. Moyer is stuck in the middle," he said. "We got nowhere and our options were limited."

Full post as published by Marler Blog on May 30, 2008 (boomark / email).