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Second Lawsuit Filed Against Egg Producer

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

The Seattle law firm Marler Clark filed a second lawsuit against Quality Egg, LLC, yesterday on behalf of a victim of the nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has been linked to the company's Wright County Egg business.  

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an 11-year-old California child who became ill with a Salmonella infection after consuming eggs on July 1 and 2.  Wright County Egg produced and distributed the eggs, which were purchased at a Ralph's supermarket location.

According to the lawsuit, the child--referred to with her initials, J.S.H., in the lawsuit--became ill with symptoms of Salmonella infection, including headache, fever, abdominal cramps, and nausea on July 4 while on a camping trip.  By July 5 she had begun to vomit and was experiencing severe diarrhea.  Her family decided to return home from their camping trip early.

By July 6, J.S.H. was unable to eat or drink and had become badly dehydrated.  Her mother took her to see her pediatrician, and was referred to the emergency department, where J.S.H. received intravenous fluids for dehydration before being admitted to the pediatric ward of the hospital.  She remained hospitalized until July 9.  Results from a stool sample J.S.H. had submitted for testing in the ER returned positive for Salmonella the day she was discharged.

J.S.H., who is an all-star softball player, was unable to participate in the season's final softball tournament a week after her hospitalization due to her severely weakened condition.  She lost 7 pounds while hospitalized.

The Ventura County Health Department later notified J.S.H.'s mother that her daughter had tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis, the strain of Salmonella associated with the Wright County Egg Salmonella outbreak.  

J.S.H. continues to test positive for Salmonella enteritidis.  According to her attorneys, her medical expenses incurred to-date total over $20,000.  

Her attorney, Drew Falkenstein, commented on the lawsuit, "This young girl's illness was entirely preventable.  This entire outbreak and large-scale recall was entirely preventable.  It is evident that the defendant in this lawsuit has a history of reckless behaviors that, unfortunately, have culminated in lots of illnesses nationally.  My hope is that, two years from now, we can look back and view this watershed food safety event, and the lessons we take from it, as a boon to food safety from farm to fork."

Full post as published by Food Safety News on August 24, 2010 (boomark / email).