Health Law

Lawsuit Filed Against Fairbank Farms Over E. coli O157:H7 Ground Beef

By David Babcock

Marler Clark filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Alice Smith against Fairbank Farms in Federal District Court in Maine.   Ms. Smith, 88 years old, was hospitalized for weeks with an E. coli O157:H7 infection after consuming ground beef contaminated with the bacteria produced by Fairbank.

In late October 2009, Fairbank Farms recalled 545,699 pounds of ground beef contaminated with toxic E. coli O157:H7. A joint investigation between the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and several state health departments determined that the contaminated meat was responsible for 2 deaths and at least 25 E. coli illnesses in 10 states, most of them in New England.

Ms. Smith was hospitalized for several weeks, during which time she suffered from renal failure.  She has not returned to her prior state of health.  

Marler Clark previously filed lawsuits in Maine and Massachusetts on behalf of other victims of the Fairbank Farm outbreak.

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on February 12, 2010 (boomark / email).