Health Law

Another person sickened by 2008 Jimmy John's E. coli breakout sues

By E. coli Lawyer

Another woman who says she was hospitalized two years ago because of an E. coli infection is suing the Boulder sandwich shop that was closed temporarily after an outbreak of the illness and the company that provided sprouts to the store.

In a lawsuit filed Sept. 20 in Boulder County Court — just meeting the statute of limitations — Sophia Wolf said she went to Jimmy John's at 1125 13th St. on Sept. 20, 2008, and ordered and ate a sandwich that contained sprouts. Within a few days, Wolf said in the lawsuit, she started getting stomach pains that included symptoms like nausea vomiting and diarrhea that turned bloody.

She went to the emergency room at Boulder Community Hospital on Sept. 26, according to the lawsuit, and underwent tests. While waiting for the results, Wolf said in the lawsuit, she continued to suffer from symptoms and lost about 15 pounds.

A short time later, she was notified that she tested positive for having the E. coli bacteria in her system — the same strain that 17 other people had tested positive for in the Boulder area around that time, according to the lawsuit. Boulder County Public Health later concluded that the source of the outbreak was alfalfa sprouts and secondary person-to-person transmission at the Boulder Jimmy John's store.

The sprouts that were provided to Jimmy John's were manufactured and sold by Sprouts Extraordinaire in Denver. Shamrock Foods and Sysco Food Services Denver distributed the sprouts, according to the lawsuit.   Numerous defendants named in the lawsuit include Sprouts Extraordinaire, Jimmy John's, Shamrock Foods and Sysco Denver.

In October of 2008, a University of Colorado student was first to file a lawsuit in connection with the E. coli outbreak. Katie Pendleton sued the operator of the Boulder Jimmy John's after she said she was hospitalized twice after eating there.  That case was resolved, but the judgement has been sealed.

Full post as published by e.Coli Blog on September 30, 2010 (boomark / email).