An E. coli outbreak associated with ground beef has sickened people in Illinois,
Ohio and Pennsylvania and may have killed a seven-year-old girl in Cleveland,
Ohio. "We are calling on Valley Meats and any restaurants involved in the
outbreak to act responsibly and pay for the medical expenses and lost wages of
those who contracted E. coli infections,'' said Fred Pritzker, founder and
president of national food poisoning and food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen
Attorneys."While other legal issues, including compensation for pain and
suffering, are pending. The families deserve that peace of mind.''
CLEVELAND, Ohio--(Business Wire)--
According to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, 96,000 pounds of
frozen hamburger patties and refrigerated ground beef have been recalled by
Valley Meats LLC of Coal Valley, Illinois, in association with an outbreak of E.
coli O157:H7. Illnesses have been reported in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois,
and the ground beef in question was distributed nationwide after it was produced
March 10.
The Ohio Department of Health has stated that three E. coli O157:H7 infections
have been confirmed, and Cleveland's health director has said a fourth case
involving the E. coli death of a 7-year-old girl is being investigated as
possibly related. At least two restaurants in Ohio's Cuyahoga County also are
being investigated as possibly linked to the outbreak, officials have said.
"We are calling on Valley Meats and any restaurants involved in the outbreak to
act responsibly and pay for the medical expenses and lost wages of those who
contracted E. coli infections,'' said Fred Pritzker, founder and president of
national food poisoning and food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys."While
other legal issues, including compensation for pain and suffering, are pending.
The families deserve that peace of mind.''
Pritzker also stated that he believes restaurants should do more to ensure that
meat suppliers are following state of the art techniques to keep deadly
pathogens out of the food supply. "It is really up to restaurants to demand that
the meat they prepare for customers is produced under the safest possible
conditions," Pritzker said. "Restaurants have the market power to change
dangerous practices."
Pritzker Olsen is involved in practically all major outbreaks of foodborne
illness and the firm has recovered millions of dollars for the families and
victims of E. coli and related Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, or HUS. Currently,
Fred Pritzker is representing the families of three women who died of Salmonella
poisoning in Minnesota and Ohio in the outbreak caused late last year by Peanut
Corp. of America.
"These women and their families have suffered immeasurably. No amount of money
could fully compensate them for their loss, but pursuing the companies
responsible is the best way of helping prevent anyone else from going through
what they did,'' Pritzker said.
Pritzker Olsen is one of the few law firms in the United States that practices
extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. Attorneys at the firm
have been quoted as experts in this area by The Associated Press, The New York
Times, CNN, CBS News, Fox News and many regional newspapers and broadcast
stations. For more information, visit
http://www.pritzkerlaw.com/section-foodborne-illness/ecoli/valley-meats-ground-beef-recall-lawsuit.html
or contact Fred Pritzker at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). PritzkerOlsen has
offices at Plaza VII, Suite 2950, 45 South Seventh Street, Minneapolis,
Minnesota 55402
Pritzker Olsen, P.A.
Fred Pritzker, 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free)
Copyright Business Wire 2009
