Pritzker Hageman law firm has initiated an E. coli O157:H7 lawsuit against Damsy Restaurant at 405 1st Avenue Southwest in Rochester, Minnesota. The complaint alleges that a child was sickened with a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infection after eating at that facility on or about September 14, 2017.
This outbreak was discovered when officials from Olmsted County Public Health Services and the Minnesota Department of Health began investigating a cluster of genetically indistinguishable E. coli O157:H7 infections in Rochester, Minnesota in late September 2017. At least eight confirmed cases have been identified in this outbreak, and more cases are suspected.
When this outbreak cluster was identified, officials from the Olmsted County Public Health Service inspected the restaurant. The facility was shut down at that time, according to documents that will be filed with the court. The lawsuit states that “no particular food item was associated with the outbreak. Widespread cross-contamination of raw meats and violation of sanitary food preparation standards in the kitchen was suspected.”
E. coli infections are reportable illnesses. Information about the DNA of bacteria causing these illnesses is stored in PulseNet, a nationwide database of bacterial isolates and samples. When illnesses caused by genetically similar bacteria are noticed in an area during the same time frame, officials suspect an outbreak.
According to the initiated E. coli O157:H7 lawsuit, the family ate “all or parts of a chicken sandwich, beef sandwich, falafel, hummus, fried and pita bread” during their visit. The next day, the father and his wife noticed that their child was suffering from severe diarrhea.
The child was taken to the doctor on September 18, 2017 when her condition did not improve. Doctors could not diagnose an illness and told the parents to “continue pushing fluids” and to return if she did not get better.
The child’s diarrhea then turned bloody. She was taken to St. Mary’s Emergency Room in Rochester on September 22, 2017. The doctors referred her to the Mayo Clinic for admission. Doctors were concerned that she was in kidney failure. Children under the age of 5 are more likely to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure that can cause seizures, strokes, and death when they are sickened with a STEC infection.
She tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 while in the hospital. Public health officials determined that she was part of the Damsy Restaurant E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. The child was discharged from the Mayo Clinic several days after admission, and is still recovering.
The lawsuit alleges that Damsy restaurant “manufactured, distributed, marketed, and sold food that was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a deadly pathogen.” Minnesota food law prohibits these actions.
If you or someone you know ate at Damsy Restaurant in Rochester in late September and have experienced the symptoms of an E. coli infection, it’s important to see your doctor. A study published in the British Medical Journal has found that people who have recovered from this infection may have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, heart problems, and kidney problems later in life.
The symptoms of an E. coli infection include diarrhea which is usually bloody and/or watery, a mild fever, and severe and painful abdominal cramps. Most people start getting sick a few days after exposure to this dangerous bacteria.
If this infection is improperly treated with antibiotics, or if the patient is young, a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) may develop. Symptoms of this condition include little or no urine output, lethargy, easy bruising, a skin rash, and bleeding from the nose or mouth. Anyone experiencing these symptoms must be taken to a doctor immediately.
Pritzker Hageman, America’s food safety law firm, successfully represents people harmed by adulterated food products in outbreaks throughout the United States. Its lawyers have won hundreds of millions of dollars for survivors of foodborne illness, including the largest verdict in American history for a person harmed by coli and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The firm also publishes the E-news site, Food Poisoning Bulletin, a respected source for food safety news and information. Fred Pritzker and his team recently won $7.5 million for young client in an E. coli O157:H7 lawsuit, when the child’s kidneys failed because of hemolytic uremic syndrome after a STEC infection.
