Two Salmonella lawsuits have been filed by Pritzker Hageman against Fareway Stores in the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak linked to recalled chicken salad. Both of the patients live in Iowa, where most of the illnesses in this outbreak have occurred. The FDA now says that the salad was made by Triple T Specialty Meats of Ackley, Iowa.
The outbreak has sickened more than 100 people in Iowa alone. One person in Minnesota is also sick; there is a confirmed case in Nebraska, and there are reports of people sick in South Dakota and Illinois. Fareway operates 118 stores across the midwest.
In the first case, a woman purchased chicken salad from a Fareway Store in West Des Moines on February 11, 2018. She purchased chicken salad in a container with “Fareway” on the label. She started experiencing symptoms of food poisoning, with stomach cramps and diarrhea, on February 12, 2018. Two days later, she went to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines for treatment.
There, she was given IV fluids and anti-nausea meds. The next day, she felt worse and went to Methodist in West Des Moines. A stool sample was tested, and Salmonella bacteria were found.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with food poisoning, you can contact attorney Fred Pritzker for help by calling 1-888-377-8900 or 612-338-0202.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker, who has represented many people sickened with Salmonella food poisoning over the years, said, “All facilities have a legal responsibility to sell food that is safe to eat. No one should get sick just because they ate chicken salad.”
In the second case, a man bought chicken salad on February 2, 2018 from the Fareway store in Polk county at 3205 North Ankeny Boulevard in Ankeny, Iowa. He stored the salad in the refrigerator at his home, and ate it on February 3 and 4, 2018.
By February 8, the plaintiff began feeling ill with symptoms of nausea, fatigue, a loss of appetite, stomach pain, a fever, muscle aches, joint aches, a headache, and severe diarrhea. The next day he went to Unity Point Urgent Care and had a CT scan and blood drawn. He was admitted to Iowa Hospital in Des Moines.
Lab tests revealed that he had a Salmonella infection. He has not fully recovered and will require future medical care.
According to the law, Fareway owes a duty to its customers to conform to a standard of conduct for safe storage, handling, preparation, distribution, and sale of food at their stores. And Fareway has a duty to use ingredients and supplies that are reasonably safe, wholesome, free of defects, and that are free from adulteration and safe for human consumption. Fareway breached the duty of care owed to these plaintiffs.
The USDA has issued a public health alert about this salad, warning consumers that the product may be contaminated. The Iowa Department of Health has also issued a warning, staying that as of February 20, 2018, there are 115 confirmed cases in that state alone.
If you have eaten chicken salad sold at Fareway stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and have experienced the symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning, see your doctor. This illness is very underreported, but most people do not know that a Salmonella infection can cause serious, lifelong health problems, including arthritis, endocarditis, and irritable bowel syndrome.
The Minneapolis law firm of Pritzker Hageman, America’s food safety law firm, successfully represents people harmed by adulterated food products in outbreaks throughout the United States. Its experienced 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 E. coli and hemolytic uremic syndrome.
