E. coli Outbreak: Fralo’s Pizza San Antonio: E. coli Water Contamination
Pritzker Olsen attorneys are investigating the E coli outbreak at Fralo’s Art of Pizza restaurant and the illnesses linked to this outbreak. For a free consultation with an attorney call 1-888-377-8900 or submit our online contact form on this page.
Fralo’s Art of Pizza, near San Antonio, Texas, was closed briefly following an E. coli outbreak linked to their water supply. The restaurant’s E coli problems coincided with a lift station equipment failure across the road. As much as 400,000 gallons of sewage leaked into the ground from a sewer line. It has yet to be determined whether this is the source of the E coli water contamination of the restaurant’s septic tanks.
E. coli Outbreak: Water Contamination
Because harmful strains of E. coli can live in animal and human digestive systems, they can be present in the feces. After any kind of precipitation, E. coli from animal or human fecal matter can wash into groundwater, rivers, lakes and streams. This has the potential of contaminating the water sources and, if not treated adequately, can make people seriously ill.
Groundwater contamination is a hot topic and growing concern. Groundwater usually refers to water underground that can be removed by wells. If a well becomes contaminated, it can have far-reaching effects and take years to amend. The most common sources of groundwater contamination include improper disposal of wastes, faulty septic tanks, lift station sewage leaks, landfills, pesticides and fertilizers.
In an attempt to get this situation under control quickly, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has taken over this investigation. They will collect the facts surrounding this E. coli outbreak to determine how sewage found its way into Fralo’s well water. TCEQ is the environmental agency for the state of Texas charged with enforcing environmental regulations and issuing air and water operating permits to business entities operating in Texas.
The exact strain of E coli contamination has not been identified by authorities. There are many strains of pathogenic E. coli that can contaminate well water and cause serious illness and death, including:
For information about a Fralo’s lawsuit, please contact an E coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen law firm by calling 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or submitting our free consultation form.
E. coli Lawyers Investigate Illnesses Possibly Connected to Texas Restaurant
Fralo’s Pizza in Leon Springs, Texas reopened this week after the city’s health department shut it down because of E. coli contamination in the restaurant’s water, local news sources reported. Dozens of customers and employees got sick after eating the restaurant’s food, news reports said. The source of the E.coli water contamination is still unknown, although the restaurant’s problems coincided with a sewage leak across the street from the restaurant. As much as 400,000 gallons of sewage leaked from a sewer line into the ground and a nearby creek bed.
City health officials have since reported that water samples from the restaurant are now coming back clean, and Fralo’s is testing the restaurant’s water supply daily as an extra precaution. According to Sarah Gateswood, a spokesperson for San Antonio Water System:
“It is very hard to determine because there are so many factors that can impact water quality especially from a well, such as septic tanks. We know the area has a lot of septic tanks. The most important thing is for people to rest assured that the tests we are taking are coming back clean.”
E. coli Water Contamination in Restaurants
E. coli attorneys and food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen law firm are investigating illnesses potentially related to this outbreak. “By serving food to the public, a restaurant is essentially guaranteeing that the food product is safe,” said food safety attorney Elliot Olsen. “If it turns out that any portion of that food is not safe, and people become sick as a result, the restaurant can be held responsible.”
E. coli poisoning can lead to serious complications such as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or E. coli HUS, which attacks blood cells and can cause kidney failure and even death. The lawyers at Pritzker Olsen represent clients who have become sick with E. coli from drinking contaminated water, and encourage anyone who thinks they may have become sick from E. coli in water to visit the doctor and get tested for the pathogen.
Sources:
http://www.ksat.com/news/24735142/detail.html
http://www.saws.org/latest_news/NewsDrill.cfm?news_id=702
Well Owners Advised to test for E. coli in Water
After settling a well water E. coli case in Iowa and investigating a well water E. coli outbreak at a fitness center in Missouri, lawyer Elliot Olsen says these public health dangers could be avoided with mandatory testing.
Olsen reached a confidential six-figure settlement for a two-year-old E. coli victim in rural Iowa who was sickened by E. coli in well water at her family’s rented home.
The well owner contended the child contracted E. coli directly from cattle in nearby fields, but Olsen hired university experts to study and prove that manure runoff from the cattle seeped into the private well serving the house.
Sadly, the little girl was hospitalized for an extended period when she developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). She suffered permanent kidney damage and is at risk for needing a kidney transplant in the future.
Meanwhile in Missouri, Cape Girardeau County Public Health said there are 7 laboratory-confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7, all children. In addition, there are 11 other probable infections. The gym in question is the Class Act Family Fitness Center, 2336 County Road 307 in Jackson, which has agreed to cease providing water to its users.
Water from the well used by Class Act Family Fitness has tested positive for E. coli, and further testing is being done to determine if it is E. coli O157:H7.
HUS can develop in any person with an E. coli O157:H7 infection, but children are the most prone to this life-threatening disease. In Missouri, at least four of the well water E. coli victims were hospitalized.
To prevent similar outbreaks, Olsen recommends the following testing requirements for well owners who supply water for a business or rental property:
- Mandatory yearly testing of water for E. coli and other pathogens.
- Mandatory testing of water if the well has been overtopped by flood water or compromised.
- Required posting of well water risks near water fountains and water taps.
Attorney Elliot Olsen represents E. coli victims nationwide. He can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing an online contact form.
Well Water E. coli HUS Lawsuit Settled
The food poisoning lawyers at Pritzker Olsen law firm have represented many victims of serious foodborne illnesses, including E. coli hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) lawsuits. However, Pritzker Olsen lawyers have recently settled a more unusual E. coli lawsuit that involves E. coli-contaminated water supplies on a rental property.
Many people think foods–particularly ground beef or leafy greens–are the only sources of E. coli infections in humans, but that is untrue. Drinking water contaminated with E. coli can be just as deadly or life-changing as any other E. coli infection. In this case, the drinking water at a rural Iowa rental home was supplied by a well that was contaminated with the pathogen, and a toddler living at the home became seriously ill in 2007.
Early E. coli symptoms included severe abdominal pain and diarrhea, but soon developed into a serious kidney condition that attacks red blood cells and is called hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS). The child was hospitalized for a month and put on kidney dialysis. Although her condition has improved she will have lifelong kidney damage and is at risk for needing a kidney transplant in the future.
Local authorities tested the home’s tap water and found E. coli in the water supply about a month after the child became sick. Pritzker Olsen attorneys hired a microbiologist, pediatric nephrologist and geohydrologist to serve as expert witnesses who could communicate to the defense attorneys that the conditions on the home’s property did, indeed, lead to the child’s illness, which seriously affected her life and the lives of her family members. It was found that the well water likely became contaminated with E. coli from manure that rainwater washed into the water supply from fields of cattle that grazed uphill from the well not far from the home.
Sports Complex E. coli Outbreak Linked to Water
Four people have been hospitalized and at least 10 others have reported being sickened by contaminated drinking water at a sports complex near Jackson, Missouri.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services, the Class Act Sports Complex E. coli outbreak began at the end of April.
Officials with the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center tested water from a drinking fountain and a faucet within the facility and confirmed the presence of E. coli in both samples. The sports complex, which is served by a private well, shut off its water at the urging of local health officials.
The state health agency said testing confirmed five E. coli infections. Nine other illnesses in people who drank water are considered probable cases of E. coli.
The Department of Health and Senior Services said it is working with local health officials to determine the source of the contamination. The agency did not say what type of E. coli was found.
People who have become ill after drinking water at the Class Act Sports Complex are asked to contact local health officials. For answers to legal questions about the outbreak, victims may call food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our online contact form.
Pritzker Olsen is one of the few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. Over the years, we have collected millions for victims and we are involved in practically every major outbreak of food poisoning.
