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.
