Fairbank E coli Outbreak Victims Deserve Aid
Fairbank Farms, the meat company in western New York state associated with the Fairbank ground beef E. coli outbreak that has killed two people and sickened 26 others in 12 states should immediately pay the medical costs, lost wages and other direct and indirect expenses incurred by victims and their families.
The company is in the midst of a ground beef E. coli recall of more than 270 tons of potentially contaminated ground beef that was distributed to grocery stores in eight northeastern and New England states. Besides paying victims’ expenses, the company also should issue an apology.
“Eating a hamburger in the United States should not be a high-risk activity,” said Fred Pritzker, a national food safety lawyer who has represented E. coli victims against the world’s largest ground beef suppliers. “This outbreak was preventable.”
State and federal authorities are in agreement that strong epidemiological evidence and advanced, secondary DNA testing of ground beef from an open package of Fairbank Farms ground beef taken from the home of one of the victims correlates Fairbank Farms to the same strains of E. coli O157:H7 that have been making people sick.
Illnesses have been reported in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, South Dakota and California.
WTEN-TV of Albany, New York, reported that one of those who died was an older resident of Albany County who had underlying health problems. The other death occurred in New Hampshire, health officials in that state have confirmed.
E. coli O157:H7 emits a powerful Shiga toxin that attacks red blood cells in humans. Its effects can range from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to death and people who have weakened or underdeveloped immune systems — especially children under 5 and adults over 60 — are most vulnerable.
At least two of the 16 people hospitalized in this outbreak developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. This is a life-threatening complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection that kills more than 4 percent of its victims. Even when it’s not fatal, patients often suffer life-long health consequences. HUS is the leading cause of kidney failure in children around the world.
The presence of E. coli O157:H7 in Fairbank ground beef most likely means that not enough care was taken to keep cow fecal matter off muscle meat. The bacteria grows in the hind guts of cattle without harming them and gets impacted on their hides from manure. The manure can flake off and splatter and knives can mistakenly nick a cow’s intestines. Once the splattered beef is ground up, the pathogens can end up inside hamburger patties and meatloaf where they aren’t readily killed unless internal temperatures reach 160 degrees.
But victims should not be blamed for failing to kill potentially deadly microbes that aren’t supposed to be in their food in the first place.
Federal law bans E. coli O157:H7 from raw ground beef. In this case, the inspection process did not prevent it from entering the food supply. This gives victims of the Fairbank E. coli outbreak special legal rights and liability doesn’t stop with the meatpacker.
If you or a loved one has E. coli symptoms after eating ground beef (the signs might not show up for 4 to 8 days), contact a physician immediately. For answers to legal questions about this outbreak, call Pritzker Olsen Attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of food poisoning litigation and we have recovered millions for victims.
We currently represent E. coli HUS victims and are accepting cases from this outbreak. Call to received a free case consultation or complete our online contact and information form.
