Iowa Jimmy John’s E. coli Victims Discovered in Linn, Johnson, Polk and Dallas Counties
The Iowa Jimmy John’s E. coli outbreak is the largest of five states where people were sickened by the same genetically matched strain of E. coli O26. Three of the five Iowa case patients are from the greater Des Moines area, in Polk and Dallas County. The other two illnesses were in residents of Linn and Johnson counties on the eastern side of the state.
Polly Carver-Kimm, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, said all of the Iowa patients have recovered.
In Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Kansas, a total of 12 confirmed illnesses have been registered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That number could rise in the coming week because CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet, a national molecular database, to identify additional ill persons and to interview those people about their food histories.
The investigation so far has traced the outbreak to clover sprouts grown in two separate facilities, supplied by the same seed company. That seed company has not been identified by the CDC. On February 10, 2012, the seed supplier initiated notification of sprouting facilities that received this lot of clover seed to stop using it.
Meanwhile, the sandwich chain Jimmy John’s has announced it will discontinue serving raw sprouts. Since 2008, Jimmy John’s sprouts have been associated with four outbreaks, including last year’s large outbreak of Salmonella across multiple states.
E. coli litigators at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys are investigating the current outbreak and accepting cases from victims. A good E. coli lawyer will consider all harms, including predictable future difficulties, when pursuing fair claims for those who have been hospitalized or sickened with an infection. Studies have shown that lasting damage can result from toxic E. coli infections such as those caused by E. coli O26.
Attorneys at the firm provide free case consultations to individuals who believe they have been sickened in an outbreak of foodborne illness. If we agree to take your case, you owe nothing until the case is won. A Pritzker Olsen attorney can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and a lawyer will call you. Our firm has recovered millions for E. coli victims while also working actively in various causes to stop the contamination of our food supply.
Springfield, Mo., Home to 3 Jimmy Johns E. coli Cases
All three of Missouri’s Jimmy Johns E. coli infections were discovered in the Springfield area by health investigators at the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, the agency said in a news release. Each of the three confirmed case patients — all women — ate a sandwich from a different Jimmy John’s location, a fact consistent with CDC findings that the source of the Jimmy John’s E. coli outbreak was contaminated raw clover sprouts.
The Springfield, Mo., infections occurred between January 7 and January 13 with all three case patients experiencing tell-tale symptoms of bloody diarrhea, cramping, nausea, fever and chills. None of the Missouri women were hospitalized, but two of the 12 confirmed case patients from the complete five-state area of the outbreak did spend time in hospitals.
If you or a loved one is a confirmed case patients of this outbreak, or if you fell ill with bloody diarrhea and other symptoms of E. coli infection after eating at a Jimmy John’s in the past two months, you may be interested in contacting an experienced E. coli lawyer.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is investigating the Jimmy John’s outbreak and has been in contact with victims. Cases are being accepted at 1-888-377-8900 in a process of free case consultation, or leave your contact information and an attorney will promptly call you. Our firm has won tens of millions of dollars over the years for E. coli outbreak victims and we are one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation.
Potential Missouri Jimmy John’s E. coli Lawsuit
The Springfield Greene-County Health Department’s epidemiological team worked to identify the source of the outbreak beginning in mid-January. The team was an important collaborator with the CDC, which has officially linked the December-January outbreak to consumption of raw clover sprouts served at the Jimmy John’s fast food restaurant chain. This is the fourth time since 2008 that Jimmy John’s has been associated with an outbreak of food poisoning believed to be caused by contaminated sprouts.
The CDC has said it is still investigating the origin of the contamination and believes it started with bad seeds — a fact that would possibly put other people in danger elsewhere in the food supply.
News-Leader.com in Springfield quoted a Kansas sprout grower who said federal agents visited his farm just last week in connection with the Jimmy John’s outbreak and that he voluntarily pulled some clover sprouts from the market.
John Hershberger, the owner of Sweetwater Farms in Inman, Kansas, said federal investigators have not conclusively linked the seeds to the outbreak. Two of the confirmed Jimmy John’s E. coli illnesses were in Kansas. Wisconsin and Arkansas also are identified as outbreak states by the CDC.
“It is believed to be the seeds that were the problem,” Kendra Williams, Greene County administrator for community health and epidemiology told News-Leader.com.
Iowa Jimmy John’s E. coli Outbreak At Least 5 Victims
Iowa Jimmy John’s customers were hit hardest in the initial phase of an E. coli outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has associated with the consumption of raw clover sprouts. At least five Iowans have been confirmed as case patients in the outbreak, which started on Christmas Day and has sickened at least 12 people in five states. Two people have been hospitalized.
National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., has been in contact with Iowa E. coli victims for a potential Jimmy John’s lawsuit. The fast-food restaurant chain, based in Illinois, has been associated with four outbreaks of foodborne illness since 2008, all dealing with sprouts. Other restaurant chains have stopped serving raw sprouts because of the inherent contamination risk that they carry. But Jimmy John’s has chosen to persist in the practice, switching last year from alfalfa sprouts to raw clover sprouts that were said to be easy to wash.
If you or a loved one has been stricken by gastrointestinal illness after eating at Jimmy John’s in Iowa or other Midwestern state since late December, there is a chance you are a victim of this outbreak and, as such, would be eligible to pursue a claim. The type of E. coli active in this outbreak — E. coli O26 — is capable of causing severe infection or life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). But even mild cases of toxic E. coli infection can have lasting medical consequences that can and should be part of any well-represented claim.
PritzkerOlsen attorneys is one of the very few legal groups in the country that has been practicing extensively in the complicated area of foodborne illness litigation. Over the years we have collected tens of millions of dollars across the country for victims of food poisoning outbreaks like the Iowa Jimmy John’s E. coli outbreak.
To speak to an E. coli lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information here and an attorney from the firm will call you.
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Jimmy Johns Sprouts Caused Previous Outbreaks Too
The Jimmy John’s E. coli outbreak of 2012 is the fourth outbreak of food borne illness since 2008 that public health officials have associated with contaminated sprouts served on sandwiches at the fast-food restaurant chain.
Jimmy John’s officials recognized the problem to the extent that they said last year they would switch from using alfalfa sprouts to clover sprouts because they would be easier to clean. That initiative followed a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella that sickened more than 140 people.
But this time the CDC has identified raw clover sprouts consumed by patrons of Jimmy Johns as the likely cause of 12 E. coli O26 infections in five states: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Wisconsin. At least two of the food poisoning victims have been hospitalized. The poisonings started on Christmas Day and the most recent, confirmed onset of illness was January 15, but more confirmations could be forthcoming and officials believe it is possible that contaminated clover sprouts from the same seed supply could be in use elsewhere.
Jimmy John’s has declined to comment on the latest outbreak. Lawsuits from Jimmy John’s outbreaks are part of the E. coli litigation history stemming from from more than 30 outbreaks that the CDC has associated with raw or lightly cooked sprouts in the United States in the past 15 years. E. coli in sprouts also caused a major European outbreak last year that killed more than 50 people and sickened more than 4,000.
E. coli contamination of sprouts is a well-known threat that other restaurants have heeded to protect the public. A good E. coli lawyer with years of experience in foodborne illness litigation can help families recover from the harms they suffer in outbreaks.
If you or a family member has fallen ill after eating at Jimmy Johns in the Midwest, call national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and an attorney will call you. Our firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars over the years for victims of E. coli outbreaks and is one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of food poisoning outbreak litigation.
Jimmy Johns E coli O26: Lawsuits for Medical Expenses, Pain and Suffering and Lost Income
Victims of the Jimmy Johns E coli O26 outbreak caused by clover sprouts have the legal right to seek compensation from all responsible parties. In most cases, compensation includes amounts for the following:
- medical expenses (past and future)
- pain and suffering (past and future)
- lost income (past and future)
- and other damages
To get compensation, your attorney will have to prove a causal link (“causation”) between your E coli O26 infection and eating at Jimmy Johns. To seek compensation from the clover sprout supplier, you will need to further prove “by a preponderance of the evidence” that clover sprouts were the specific food source of the outbreak. Contact our attorneys for a free consultation.
Evidence Pointing to Jimmy Johns as the E coli Source
With an E coli litigation case, we look to epidemiology and microbiology to provide the evidence needed to prove causation. Let’s take a look at what the investigation has turned up to date, according to the CDC report:
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Map showing the location of Jimmy Johns E coli victims.
Epidemiology: Among the 11 ill persons with information available, 10 (91%) reported eating at a Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurant in the 7 days preceding illness. Ill persons reported eating at 9 different locations of Jimmy John’s restaurants in 4 states in the week before becoming ill. One location was identified where more than one ill person reported eating in the week before becoming ill. Among the 10 ill persons who reported eating at a Jimmy John’s restaurant location, 8 (80%) reported eating a sandwich containing sprouts, and 9 (90%) reported eating a sandwich containing lettuce. Currently, no other common grocery stores or restaurants are associated with illnesses.
- Microbiology: The CDC is using DNA “fingerprints” of E. coli bacteria obtained through diagnostic testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to identify people sickened in this outbreak. To date 12 people have reported E. coli O26 infections after eating at Jimmy Johns. For them to be part of the outbreak, the specific E coli O26 bacteria that caused illness must have the same genetic fingerprint as the subtype of E coli O26 that made others sick. The 12 people sickened live in Iowa (5), Missouri (3), Kansas (2), Arkansas (1) and Wisconsin (1). In addition to doing tests on the E. coli found in victims’ fecal matter, health investigators also do environmental testing. There have been no reports as yet of environmental test results. Even if the outbreak subtype of E coli O26 is not found at any of the environmental samples, there will still be evidence for a lawsuit.
Evidence that Clover Sprouts Were the Food that Caused the E. coli Outbreak
Again there is epidemiologic evidence that clover sprouts are the source of the outbreak. Among the 10 ill persons who reported eating at a Jimmy John’s restaurant location, 8 (80%) reported eating a sandwich containing sprouts, according to the CDC. FDA’s traceback investigation is ongoing. Preliminary traceback information has identified a common lot of clover seeds used to grow clover sprouts served at Jimmy John’s restaurant locations where ill persons ate. FDA and states conducted a traceback that identified two separate sprouting facilities; both used the same lot of seed to grow clover sprouts served at these Jimmy John’s restaurant locations.
This investigation is ongoing, but preliminary results of the epidemiologic and traceback investigations indicate eating raw clover sprouts at Jimmy John’s restaurants is the likely cause of this outbreak, according to the CDC.
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Our E coli lawyers represent food poisoning victims throughout the United States. You can contact them at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or by submitting our free consultation form.
