E coli HUS
Our attorneys hold companies accountable for
selling contaminated food that causes E. coli-HUS.
Our lawyers handle cases throughout the country involving E. coli food poisoning. Some E. coli cases result in a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). People die from E. coli-HUS. People who survive are often left with life-long damage to their kidneys, heart, brain, pancreas and other organs. Even E. coli-HUS survivors who are thought to have recovered are at much greater risk for future health problems, including high blood pressure,cardiovascular disease (heart disease) and kidney damage (possible need for kidney transplant).
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What is E. coli-HUS and
How Does it Cause Kidney Failure?
E. coli-HUS is caused by a poison produced by E. coli bacteria called Shiga toxin. In a small number of E. coli food poisoning cases, that Shiga toxin affects the red blood cells by causing them to be misshapen. When this happens, those misshapen blood cells can get clogged in tiny blood vessels in the kidneys called glomeruli. The clots formed in the glomeruli can block the filtration system in the kidneys that allows waste products to be removed from the body. If there are enough glomeruli affected, the kidney function decreases, often to the point of kidney failure. When that happens, it is necessary to treat those E. coli-HUS patients with dialysis.
What are the Complications of E. coli-HUS?
E. coli-HUS has serious complications, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Hemolytic anemia
- Abnormal kidney function
- HUS Kidney failure (renal failure) that may require a kidney transplant) – illness accompanying kidney failure is called uremia (develops when urea and other waste products are retained in the blood)
- Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) damage (manifested by , or more seriously, seizures, stroke, coma, encephalopathy)
- Severe hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (HUS-ARDS)
- Heart attack and heart failure
- Blindness
- Pancreatitis
- Diabetes
- Gall stones
- Thrombocytopenia (platelet deficiency in the blood)
- Death
The central nervous system (CNS) damage initially manifests as irritablilty, behavior changes, disorientation, delerium, hallucinations, dizziness and/or tremors. All CNS damage is serious, but some cases are extremely severe, resulting in stroke, coma, encephalopathy or death. In some cases doctors induce a coma to try keep the E. coli-HUS patient alive long enough for the body to start recovering.
All of our surviving E. coli-HUS clients, most of them children, were hospitalized for weeks or months. They all have some permanent physical and emotional damage. Part of the emotional damage is living with the knowledge that they may need a kidney transplant at some point in the future.
