Spinach Producer Sued after Couple’s Children Contract E. Coli
By Daniel Hawn
Published on September 22, 2006
Paul and Anna Zientek filed the suit on Sept. 15 in US District Court in Milwaukee. They claim their two children were hospitalized with E. coli infections after eating Dole brand baby spinach. The suit says the children also developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.
The children are just two of several dozen Wisconsin residents who have been affected by the E. coli outbreak, which has been linked to tainted bags of prewashed spinach.
The Zienteks are represented by the Seattle-based law firm of Marler Clark LLP, which is also representing an E. coli victim in Oregon. Marler Clark previously handled lawsuits over E. coli outbreaks linked to Jack in the Box restaurants in Washington and other Western states.
To date, there have been 40 confirmed cases of E. coli in Wisconsin, including one in which a 77-year-old woman died of kidney failure after being infected.
On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website said the outbreak had reached 23 states, infecting 157 people.
The FDA issued a nationwide warning last week, advising consumers to discard any bagged fresh spinach they have.
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