Oklahoma Food Poisoning Lawsuits Likely Following E. Coli Outbreak
Over 200 people have suffered food poisoning as a result of a recent Oklahoma E. coli outbreak after eating at one restaurant, and a number of these people have consulted with food poisoning attorneys about filing a lawsuit to seek compensation for their injuries.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health has indicated that all of the victims ate at the Country Cottage restaurant in Locus Grove around the middle of August, but the exact cause of the illnesses has not yet been identified.
E. coli food poisoning is often caused by negligence during the manufacturing or preparation of food. It can cause severe abdominal cramps, diarrhea and vomiting.
Although most healthy adults recover fully within a few weeks, children, seniors and those with weak immune systems could suffer more severe injury. About 25% of the reported cases in the Oklahoma food poisoning outbreak have involved children.
Health investigators indicated this week that they found no harmful bacteria on kitchen surfaces, buffet counters and 17 other surfaces sampled on August 28. However, most of the people affected by the E. coli outbreak ate at the restaurant between August 15 and August 17.
None of the victims have filed an E. coli food poisoning lawsuit yet as a result of the Oklahoma outbreak. However, a number of cases are being investigated, and lawyers anticipate filing cases once additional information about the exact cause of the contamination is discovered.
1 comment
The trajic events at the Country Cottage involve a novel strain of E coli. This important fact must be considered in any hypothesis of cause. A cluster of cases in a short time frame with cases tailing off quickly points to a common source exposure from a point source, or single isolated event. Although the outbreak strain was not recovered from environmental samples, the fact that unchlroinated, unapproved well-water tested positive for indicators of fecal contamination, and the fact that this was reportedly a temporary situation ocurring just prior to the presentation of cases must also be considered.