Food Safety Advocates Marler Clark File First E. coli Lawsuit against JBS Swift Beef Company on Behalf of Gravely Ill Victim

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(Business Wire)--
The first lawsuit stemming from the current E. coli O157:H7 (E. coli) recall by
JBS Swift Beef Company of Greeley, Colorado that has been linked to 23 E. coli
illnesses in California, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New Mexico, New York and Wisconsin was filed today on behalf of an
Albuquerque-area child who was infected with E. coli after eating kabobs
prepared by his grandmother on Mother`s Day. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of
the family of 14-year-old Alex Roerick by his attorneys, William Marler of the
Seattle-based foodborne illness law firm Marler Clark and Kara Knowles of the
Denver firm Montgomery, Little, Soran, & Murray.

Alex ate dinner with his grandma on May 10, 2009. He began to experience
flu-like symptoms including fatigue, fever, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting by
May 13. Alex`s symptoms worsened and he was admitted to Presbyterian Hospital on
May 15. He was released several days later, before being rushed back again due
to severe bloody diarrhea. His doctors determined that Alex had developed
hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a devastating complication of his E. coli
O157:H7 infection. The genetic fingerprint of the E. coli found in Alex`s stool
matches that of others sickened in the nationwide outbreak tied to recalled JBS
Swift Beef. He continues to experience effects of his illness.

"JBS Swift and the FSIS were much too slow about releasing information on where
the beef was distributed," said Marler. "Even with widespread consumer pressure,
the information was only released a day before the 4th of July holiday, not
nearly enough time to get the word out to families that might have the
contaminated meat in their homes. Our government agencies need to work faster in
recall situations to prevent more people from suffering what Alex and his family
have experienced."

In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 28, the JBS Swift Beef Company
expanded its earlier recall of 41,280 pounds of beef contaminated with the
highly toxic pathogen E. coli to include an additional 380,000 pounds. The beef
recalls are FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) Class I, meaning that the
"use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
After years of large recalls, focused efforts by meat regulators brought down E.
coli contamination recalls to a low of 182,000 pounds in 2006. Recalls shot up
again in 2007, and in the ensuing years (2007-2009), over 41 million pounds of
beef have been recalled due to contamination with E. coli.

ABOUT MARLER CLARK: William Marler has been a major force in food safety policy
in the United States and abroad. His food safety blog, Marler Blog, is read by
over 1,000,000 people around the world every year. He and his partners at Marler
Clark have represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies
whose contaminated products have caused serious injury and death. His advocacy
for better food regulation has led to invitations to address local, national,
and international gatherings on food safety, including recent testimony to US
Congress Committee on Energy and Commerce. In 1998, Mr. Marler formed the not
for profit, Outbreak Inc. He spends much of the year speaking on how to prevent
foodborne illnesses.

For more information, please contact Bill Marler at 206-346-1890 or
bmarler@marlerclark.com.

Consumer Resource: Downloadable Family Health Guide on E. coli (PDF)

Marler Clark
Bill Marler, 206-346-1890
bmarler@marlerclark.com

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