Golden Corral Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Norovirus Outbreak

A Golden Corral restaurant in Casper, Wyoming, faces a class action lawsuit following a norovirus outbreak that sickened hundreds of customers late last year. 

The Golden Corral food poisoning lawsuit was filed by Paul Feyhi earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Wyoming, seeking class action status to represent 305 patrons who fell ill between November 17 and December 19, 2012.

Feyhi indicates that he ate at the restaurant on December 8, and subsequently contracted norovirus, which typically involves nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and potentially severe abdominal pain.

The Wyoming Department of Health and the Casper-Natrona County Health Department (CNCHD) investigated the food poisoning outbreak, which was linked to the Golden Corral restaurant. Out of 205 cases investigated by health inspectors, officials were able to confirm 240 cases of people who fell ill during that period and who had eaten at the same restaurant. The remaining cases were not confirmed. Of the 112 employees of the restaurant, 31 were confirmed as having gastrointestinal illness during the outbreak.

Investigators were not able to track down a particular food or source of the norovirus outbreak, but inspectors found a number of areas of concern that could have promoted the spread of the illnesses, including dirty dishes stacked for use in the buffet line, raw or undercooked food served to patrons, employees being allowed to work while ill, lack of glove use by food handlers and reports of patrons vomiting in the dining area and bathrooms.

The report concluded that at least 305 people were affected by the outbreak. The restaurant was temporarily shut down for sanitization and cleaning before it was re-opened after addressing the problems and passing appropriate inspections.

Norovirus is extremely contagious and causes gastroenteritis. Symptoms of norovirus typically hit suddenly, and can last for about several days.

Norovirus is the most common cause of food poisoning, according to a report published in January by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.