Personal Injury Law

Four Oklahoma Elementary Schools Now Linked to Fourteen Salmonella Illnesses

Posted on October 05, 2010
So, where is Senator Coburn when you need him?  According to local press reports, as the investigation continues, the number of kids exposed to Salmonella in Mustang Public Schools grows. Thursday afternoon officials from the State Health Department told parents there were 10 students exposed to the bacteria at four different elementary schools, but on Monday that number rose to 14...

Why it is a bad idea to poison your customers!

Posted on October 05, 2010
In between a deposition and a phone conference with a judge, I had time to finish up my PowerPoint for my upcoming speech in China.  The last slide is a video that is getting Chinese subtitles.  Actually, this would have been a good speech to give at February's ABA Food Conference in Atlanta that is apparently sponsored by Coke, but as I was told yesterday - "you were never actually invited, so you have not be dis-invited...

Heritage High School to Receive $25,000 Scholarship Donation from Marler Clark

Posted on October 05, 2010
Lynchburg, Virginia Heritage High School will be the recipient of a $25,000 donation for science scholarships from food safety law firm Marler Clark. The Seattle-based law firm works nationwide on behalf of victims of foodborne illness, and represented many in the 2008-2009 outbreak of Salmonella in peanut products produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) that was headquartered in Lynchburg...

Well, the ABA, may not want to hear what I have to say, but then most folks find it uncomfortable anyway

Posted on October 05, 2010
From the 3rd Australian Food Safety Conference in Melbourne: Bill Marler, a US lawyer who acts for victims of food poisoning listed the revolting conditions in one of the two US factory farms that have recently poisoned 1,600 people with Salmonella. They included chicken manure so deep that rats built burrows in it...

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The chickens moved in today

Posted on October 04, 2010
We decided to make the big move to the new chicken coop after it had a few coats of white paint in the interior.  Today we also bought: Galvanized trash can (to hold feed) and some staples to nail down the wire - $26.37 50 pounds of feed, and larger waterer and feeder, shavings and a 100 foot roll of smaller gauge wire (trying to make this mouse and rat proof too) - $237...

Saying your sorry and then doing nothing about it - If you sicken 1,608 people, what should you do?

Posted on October 04, 2010
When Austin DeCoster, Owner, Wright County Egg and Peter DeCoster, COO, Wright County Egg testified under oath, and Orland Bethel, President, Hillandale Farms of Iowa took the Fifth, at the hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to have (with my clients) some time alone with the DeCoster's and their counsel...

Jeff Benedict - "E. coli on my mind"

Posted on October 04, 2010
This is from writer, Jeff Benedict's Blog: For the past year and a half I've been writing a book about the biggest E. coli outbreak in U.S. history. It started in Seattle in 1993 and ended up spreading through most Western states. Jack in the Box restaurants was implicated as the source...

After nearly 18 years doing Foodborne Illness Litigation, I need to write a Book

Posted on October 03, 2010
AOL and multiple Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Andrew Schneider wrote a series of pieces this week about non-E. coli O157's – yet another of my recent projects to pull food safety out of the dark ages. He also did a bit of a profile on yours truly, that like most of the dozens over the years tends to waiver between – 'what a great guy' to 'what an SOB...

Mustang Oklahoma Salmonella Outbreak now linked to Iowa and Nebraska

Posted on October 02, 2010
It is more that a bit ironic that the state, where its Senator single handedly held up S. 510, The Food Safety Modernization Act, would now be the epicenter of yet another growing Salmonella Outbreak. According to the Oklahoman this morning, the Oklahoma salmonella outbreak has risen to 15 identified cases in three counties...

Superman and Physician, a.k.a., Oklahoma Senator Coburn, to the Rescue

Posted on October 01, 2010
It was reported today that Mustang Public School officials and the Oklahoma State Department of Health are investigating a Salmonella outbreak among elementary children in Canadian County.  Officials said 10 cases have been confirmed in Mustang (see A) among elementary-aged children...

The Tester - Hagen Amendment to S. 510 protects food safety and small farmers

Posted on October 01, 2010
It is long past time to pass S. 510, The Food Safety Modernization Act, with Senator Jon Tester's (D-MT) and Senator Kay Hagan's (D-NC) amendment to S. 510 folded in – at least after the election in the lame duck session. I have been struck in the last dozen years as I have wandered the halls of Congress, pushing one food safety bill or another, testifying or supporting a testifying client, how these quotes continue to ring true: 'Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made...

Where in the world am I giving a speech on food safety and litigation?

Posted on October 01, 2010
In between suing companies who poison my clients, I have a very busy schedule teaching (for free) many of the same companies and their lawyers - "why it is a bad idea to poison customers."  Catch me if you can. Food Microbiology Symposium, U of Wisconsin - River Falls ACI Foodborne Illness Litigation Conference - Chicago WSU Food HACCP Conference - Los Angeles University School Arkansas School of Law Lecture Series - Fayetteville CIFSQ (China Food Safety and Quality) Expo - Shanghai GMA Foodborne Litigation Conference - DC Dubai Food Safety Conference - Dubai Red Meat Abattoir Association Conference - South Africa I was also invited to an ABA Conference on food safety in Atlanta in February, but they are still working out the details.

S. 510 - Not Dead Yet, and what about the Tester Amendment?

Posted on September 30, 2010
Like a vampire in the books my daughters like to read, S. 510 keeps coming back to life.  According to the AP, the Senate will consider a food safety bill (S. 510) after the November elections that would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to prevent foodborne illness...

Cold Truth - Lawyer spends $500,000 to prove that USDA allows sale of millions of pounds of dangerous meat

Posted on September 30, 2010
Multiple Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Schneider and I have spoken quite a bit over the last several months as he plowed through the facts as he wrote this blog post and a three-part series for AOL News – 1, 2 an 3. Here are a few of my favorite 'back and forth:' Why should a trial lawyer kick in a half-million dollars of his own money to document the presence of an unregulated pathogen in America's meat supply when the agency responsible for meat safety won't? 'That's precisely why,' William Marler told me during a long series of interviews earlier this year...

ABA seeking ideas for top law "Blawgs" - got any ideas? - "hint, hint"

Posted on September 30, 2010
The ABA (a law group known primarily for protecting corporate interests – or at least leaning heavily in the direction of doing their bidding) is working on their list of the 100 best legal blogs (www.marlerblog.com made it last year). They are looking for some advice on which blawgs you think they should include...

Rock Island High School Receives $25,000 Donation for Scholarships from Marler Clark

Posted on September 30, 2010
The Rock Island High School in Illinois is the recipient of a $25,000 donation from food safety law firm Marler Clark. The Seattle-based law firm works nationwide on behalf of victims of foodborne illness, and assisted many residents in the 2009 outbreak of Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) traced to a Milan McDonald's...

ACI Food-Borne Illness Litigation Conference - Advanced Strategies for Tackling the Underlying Science and Defending Against Complex Food Contamination Claims

Posted on September 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27 to Thursday, October 28, 2010 Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States Alan Maxwell and I are co-chairing this year's conference – again. This time, in addition to our two man show: There is a star-studded group of speakers:David Goldman, MD, MPH Assistant Administrator Office of Public Health Science Food Safety Inspection Service, USDA (Washington, DC) Jack Guzewich, RS, MPH Senior Advisor, Environmental Health Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Food and Drug Administration (College Park, MD) Arthur P...

The FDA lays an Egg, well actually 550,000,000 of them

Posted on September 29, 2010
I spend a lot of time supporting the FDA and the need for more resources. Come on FDA, please give me a little bit of help here. Willy Neuman and the New York Times crack another story about the seemingly error prone FDA in today's story, 'Oop! F.D.A...

Marlerblog nominated for the Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010

Posted on September 29, 2010
I found out today that I've been honored with a nomination for the LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law blogs – sweet! Evidently, folks now get to vote on the nominations to decide on the winners. Voting involves going to the LexisNexis communities site, and commenting with your vote on the nominees...

Marlerblog nominated for the Top 25 Business Law Blogs of 2010

Posted on September 29, 2010
I found out today that I've been honored with a nomination for the LexisNexis Top 25 Business Law blogs – sweet! Evidently, folks now get to vote on the nominations to decide on the winners. Voting involves going to the LexisNexis communities site, and commenting with your vote on the nominees...

Punitive Damage Claim filed against Wright County Egg in Salmonella Egg Outbreak

Posted on September 27, 2010
After nearly 18 years doing foodborne illnesses cases, I have been frustrated by the lack of any prosecutions against many of these corporations who poison and kill us. When will a prosecutor step-up? It really is left to the blunt instrument of civil litigation, and punitive damages in particular, to "punish" these bad actors in our food supply...

My Chicken Coop is out-of-control, and it is not even painted yet.

Posted on September 26, 2010
My chicken coop for my six chickens is a bit over budget. With the purchase of the chickens, food, etc., and the coop, this is pressing on $5,000.  I am beginning to question the price per egg, and I have not yet tested the chickens and the eggs for Salmonella.

"Who needs Al-Qaeda when you have got E. coli?"

Posted on September 26, 2010
I spent most of the week in the 'other Washington.' It all does make you wonder, as one Congressman quipped some time ago: "Who needs Al-Qaeda when you have got E. coli?" What would happen if we stopped the petty bickering and actually did something about food safety like: Growers: 1...

It's Friday night and I am watching Stephen Colbert on C-SPAN testify on immigration and it made me think about my testimony from 2008 before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on food safety

Posted on September 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 10:00 a.m. 2322 Rayburn House Office Building WRITTEN TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE Chairman and members of the committee, my name is William Marler. I am a trial lawyer. My law firm Marler Clark, located in Seattle, Washington, specializes in representing victims of foodborne illness...

I really need to vote Republican - Senator Coburn, you are not a douche

Posted on September 24, 2010
I must admit that I have never voted for a Republican since I was frist able to vote in 1976.  Watching Senator Coburn on CSpan last night confirmed for me that I need to stop voting Democratic (and raising and donating money) because the Republicans really care about me and my bank account...

For those who hate trial lawyers, you really should support S. 510

Posted on September 23, 2010
This may well pop up in a few ads in D.C. this next week.

Now you're talking - give some real penalties to those who poison us.

Posted on September 23, 2010
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved legislation fast-tracked by chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to strengthen criminal penalties for food safety violators, in addition to a list of seven federal judicial nominees, some of whom have faced long delays in the Senate...

June Dunning, another reason to pass S. 510 and deem certain E. coli's adulterants

Posted on September 23, 2010
Right up until the time of her death, June Dunning remained an active, self-aware, and outgoing woman. Her health had always been good. For the last seven years of her life, she lived in Hagerstown, Maryland with her daughter and son-in-law. On August 28, 2006, June consumed a small amount of Dole baby spinach from a bag her daughter had purchased at the local grocery store days earlier...

Similac Baby Formula Recalled Due to Beetle Larvae and Insects

Posted on September 23, 2010
Abott Laboratories Incl. is voluntarily recalling one of its baby powder products. It is the Similac baby formula. According to the company, Similac baby formula may contain beetle larvae and some tiny insect parts in certain lot numbers because in one of their manufacturing facilities, beetles were found...

When is an apology chicken shit?

Posted on September 22, 2010
Phil Brasher, Dean of Ag writers and Willy Neuman of the New York Times could not have written stories as well timed as the ones that dropped into my inbox just as I was landing in D.C. from Seattle, via Wichita and Atlanta to attend tomorrow afternoons hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Investigations (third or forth I have attended)...

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