Outbreak News
E. coli Lawsuit filed against Spokane Produce
For Immediate ReleaseMarch 12, 2003
SPOKANE—Spokane attorney Roger Reed and Seattle attorney William Marler, who is nationally known for his successful representation of victims of food-borne illness, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Angela Hadley and her parents, Donald and Mary Hadley. Angela suffered severe complications from an E. coli O157:H7 infection after consuming Spokane Produce brand romaine lettuce at a dance camp at Eastern Washington University (EWU) in July. Spokane Produce was implicated by the FDA, Spokane Health Department and the Washington State Department of Health as the likely source of the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria.
Angela Hadley began experiencing abdominal pain, fever, and frequent diarrhea on the last day of the “Just for Kix” dance camp she was attending at EWU. She was treated at the emergency room and sent home. On July 17, Angela went to the emergency room again, and was admitted to Sacred Heart Medical Center for dehydration. There she provided a stool sample that tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. She was discharged July 20, but was readmitted to the hospital on July 21 and was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening condition for which there is no known treatment. When Angela’s kidneys started to fail, doctors placed her on hemodialysis to remove toxins from her blood. To date, Angela’s kidneys function below normal, and she is at significantly increased risk for developing kidney problems later in life due to the HUS.
Continue reading E. coli Lawsuit filed against Spokane Produce on the Marler Clark website.
More on this outbreak: Spokane Produce Lettuce E. coli Outbreak
