Oregon Raw Milk HUS Lawyer and Attorney
Attorney Fred Pritzker 
Five children have been hospitalized in a raw milk outbreak traced to E. coli O157:H7 in unpasteurized milk from a five-acre patch near Wilsonville, Oregon, called Foundation Farm. As of Friday, four of the youngsters were still under the care of medical teams, fighting life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.
Mel Kohn, director of the Oregon Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority, said in a published opinion that the lives of these children are hanging in the balance. A fifth child treated for E. coli infection after drinking the raw milk was treated at a hospital and released.
“These tragedies are made even more distressing when one considers that those who gave this milk to these children undoubtedly believed they were doing what was best for them. As a parent, my heart goes out to those adults,” Kohn wrote on the department’s web site.
While the milk in question is no longer being produced, more infections may occur. In total, there have been 19 confirmed E. coli O157:H7 illness in people who consumed milk from Foundation Farm. State testing found the outbreak strain in the milk itself and on rectal swabs from two of the owner’s four cows — a solid chain of evidence establishing liability and accountability for all the harms people are suffering.
Where you can go for help
In the past two decades Oregon has experienced at least six outbreaks linked to raw milk and there have been many others nationwide. Food poisoning attorneys from the Pritzker Olsen law firm have represented victims of these outbreaks, including families whose children have fought for their lives against E. coli HUS. Our firm currently represents a man sickened in Pennsylvania in a raw milk outbreak that has left him paralyzed.
If you or a loved one has been sickened in the Oregon raw milk HUS outbreak, contact Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) for a free case consultation, or leave your contact information online. Studies have shown that children 5 and under are most at risk for HUS from infection of toxic E. coli and a good E. coli lawyer will know from experience how to obtain a comprehensive claims settlement that anticipates a lifetime of related medical costs and other future harms, including pain and suffering and limitations on how a person can earn a living.
Child HUS from E. coli O157:H7 is a frightening result of food poisoning that is preventable. Consumer laws protect families from bearing the cost themselves for products that they trust to be wholesome but, in fact, are defective and dangerous.
E. coli At JBS, Trim Supplier For “Pink Slime” Halts Production For Half-Day
Attorney Fred Pritzker
E.coli at the JBS meatpacking plant in Grand Island, Neb. prompted a halt in production to clean and retreat meat processed that day, according to a the Omaha World Herald News Service.
JBS sells cuts of meat as well as beef trim products that are by other companies to make lean finely textured beef, or “pink slime.” JBS spokesman Chandler Keys, told the paper, JBS tests all of the trim meat in the plant and uses those tests as an indicator for all of the meat processed at the facility. On Wednesday, E. coli showed up in some of those tests.
The JBS plant has a tracking system that can pinpoint which cuts of meat and carcasses tested positive for E. coli, Keys told the paper, but the company’s policy is to clean and retreat all of the meat processed within 12 hours of a positive test. While the plant was being cleaned, slaughter operations were halted and cattle trucks were turned back, Key told the paper.
Because the E.coli was discovered before any product was shipped, no recalls have been issued. The plant os scheduled to resume full operations today.
Stanford School E. coli Outbreak in Kentucky
Attorney Fred Pritzker
A Stanford School E. coli outbreak in Kentucky, about 45 miles south of Lexington, has sickened three children, including a pair of twins. Public health officials from Lincoln County are investigating what caused the illnesses, including an investigation of the Stanford Elementary School kitchen.
E. coli investigators have reported that a pair of twins is sick, including one who had to be hospitalized. Stanford Elementary is the largest of seven elementary schools in the district, serving about 600 K-through-5th graders. The three E. coli illnesses at Stanford Elementary in Lincoln County, Kentucky, have been confirmed as part of an outbreak, but officials have not yet said what type of toxic E. coli made the children sick.
Parents in the community are praying that no other illnesses occur and that the three little ones recover quickly. Hospitalization can indicate that a child has developed kidney failure from hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a potentially fatal disease that occurs in up to 15 percent of children under 5 who become infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is now investigating the outbreak and provides free case consultations to families whose loved ones have been poisoned by contaminated food. Our firm has collected millions for victims of E. coli outbreaks and has provided representation in many child E. coli cases where the institutions and purveyors of contaminated food, and their insurance companies, were held accountable for damages. Foodborne E. coli illness is avoidable and part of the U.S. food safety protection system is rooted in the legal enforcement of liability.
If your child has been sickened in the Stanford Elementary School E. coli outbreak in Kentucky, please call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) for our assistance or leave your contact information and an attorney from Pritzker Olsen will call you. We are one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in foodborne illness litigation.
Raw Milk From Stroupe Farm Is Focus Of E.coli Outbreak In Missouri
Attorney Fred Pritzker
Raw milk fr0m Stroupe Farm is now the focus of an E.coli outbreak that has sickened 12 people in Missouri, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
Previously, Missouri health officials had reported that 15 people were part of an E.coli 0157:H7 outbreak, but after reviewing case histories, lab results and geographic locations, they revised the total saying that three of those sickened are not part of the same outbreak as the other 12.
The focus of the 12-person outbreak is on Stroupe Farm in Howard County Missouri which produced and sold the raw milk that eight of the victims reported consuming before they became ill. Samples from the farm, which has permanently ended raw milk sales, tested negative for E. coli.
Missouri health officials continue to remind consumers that drinking raw milk is an unnecessary health risk and advise that anyone with symptoms of an E.coli infection, which include abdominal cramping and severe sometimes bloody diarrhea, to seek medical attention.
Those with legal questions about an illness or hospitalization associated with this outbreak who would like a free consultation with an E. coli lawyer can contact PritzkerOlsen, a national leader in food safety.
Daycare E. coli Outbreak in Cocke County, Tennessee
Attorney Fred Pritzker
Tennessee is investigating a daycare E. coli outbreak in Cocke County where three children have been infected by Escherichia coli O157. Families have been notified of the risks, including cross-contamination in an environment where changing diapers can lead to more cases, but the home daycare has not been closed. Sick children must be kept away.
The Tennessee Department of Health, headed by Dr. John J. Dreyzehner, is investigating the cause of the outbreak, which is not known at this time. The agency is not identifying the daycare and has declined to give the ages of the children or disclose whether any of them has been hospitalized with a naturally occurring complication known as HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome.
HUS is the most common cause of kidney failures in children and is especially prone to occur in kids who are age 5 and under. This life-threatening disease attacks a person’s red blood cells and misshapes them, sometimes resulting in stroke, seizures, heart problems, anemia and central nervous system disorders, including paralysis.
Less threatening cases of toxic E. coli infection also are concerning because the pathogen can do damage to a person’s vascular system. Studies have shown that any toxic E. coli infection can have long-lasting health implications that require monitoring by medical personnel throughout life — a perpetual harm that experienced attorneys will calculate in claims that are settled and paid by E. coli litigation.
Parents should be aware that while the original cause of many E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks is food-borne, often involving under-cooked ground beef, uncooked produce, raw milk or other items, the bacteria is carried in an infected person’s stool and fecal-oral transmission can occur accidentally if a person who is changing diapers doesn’t carefully disinfect their hands before touching anything else — especially food or eating and drinking utensils.
An infected child can carry the bacteria for a period of time after symptoms subside and extreme caution should be taken to avoid cross-contamination.
In 2007, a 20-month-old Cocke County girl died of kidney failure after being infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, possibly from contaminated ground beef.
Parents whose children have been sickened in this Cocke County, Tennessee, E. coli outbreak can turn to E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys for legal advice on how to recover insurance damages. Our firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of food-borne illness and has many years of experience handling child E. coli cases. Over the years we have collected tens of millions of dollars for E. coli O157:H7 outbreak victims of all ages.
Free case consultations are provided by a lawyer in our office who can be reached online by leaving your contact information or by calling 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free).
Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
