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Death of Oklahoma Man Possibly Caused by E. coli

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

A 26-year-old newlywed from Pryor, Oklahoma died on Sunday from what appears to be an E. coli O157:H7 infection.  As a law firm that practices in the area of E. coli litigation, we feel that we have a responsibility to do our part to make people aware of the dangers of E. coli and to advocate for food safety. That is why we started this blog.

When someone dies from the complications of an E. coli infection, we think people need to know. The young man who died, a gospel singer, was a husband (for only a few months), son and friend, and he died of a preventable illness. Although health investigators may never find the source of the E. coli that killed this young man and sickened over 30 other people, E. coli contamination is always the result of unsanitary practices that lead to feces (usually cattle feces) getting into food or water.

If you follow the links above, you will meet a young man with talent and a bright future. We urge you to take action and contact your federal legislators:

• Tell them that they need to quit just talking about food safety and do everything possible to eliminate E. coli O157:H7 from the food chain. 
• Tell them either to create one, well-funded food safety agency, or to give the USDA (meat regulation) and the FDA (non-meat food product regulation) the authority and funds needed to keep our food safe.
• Send them to the links above, to Eric's Echo and to Safe Tables Our Priority, and tell them to meet some of the people whose lives were cut short by E. coli O157:H7.

Although the name of the man from Oklahoma who died is in news reports, we have withheld his name from the content of this post out of respect for the family.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on August 26, 2008 (boomark / email).