E. coli O157, a dangerous strain of bacteria, can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) kidney disease in young children. If your daughter or son has E. coli-HUS, our lawyers can help your child and you get a money settlement to help with medical bills and to compensate for pain and suffering. You can contact our law firm by calling 1-888-377-8900 toll free or using our free consultation form.
All cases of E. coli food poisoning are preventable. If the wrongdoer is found, you and your child have the right to sue for compensation.
Food Companies Need to Protect Children from E. coli Poisoning
Most people are not aware of the dangers of E. coli in food, particularly for young children, who are at increased risk of severe dehydration, brain damage, blindness, pancreatitis, and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States. Our lawyers have represented many children who developed these severe complications and the families of little ones who did not survive (E. coli wrongful death).
In all of our cases, we look for the contaminated food product that made our young client sick. In many cases, we have found evidence that the food processing plant was not clean or that the grower had used water containing animal feces to irrigate. Our belief, after years of experience, is that every case of E. coli food poisoning is preventable. The lawsuits we file on behalf of parents and their sick children are one way to drive home that food safety needs to always, always come before profit.
Contact Our Lawyers if You Want to Sue a Food Company on Behalf of Your Daughter or Son
Young Children and E. coli-HUS Kidney Disease
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends NOT giving a child diagnosed with E. coli poisoning either antibiotics or any diarrhea medication, including Imodium®. This is because they can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) kidney disease.
If your child has symptoms of kidney disease, including low urine output and jaundice, you should know that only 70% of E. coli-HUS kidney disease cases are preceded by bloody diarrhea. In some cases, by the time a little one gets medical attention, the E. coli culture will be negative because the bacteria has passed through the child’s system. The CDC recommends doing a rectal swab on admission for any child with symptoms, in addition to getting stool samples. In some cases, the rectal swab will be positive while the stool sample will be negative.
If your daughter or son has a positive culture, it is critical that further testing is done to get a genetic fingerprint of the serotype, which can be used to find other cases around the country. This DNA testing is called pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole genome sequencing (WGS). Your child’s legal rights to medical bill payments, pain and suffering compensation, and other money is dependent on the correct tests being done.
Complications associated with E. coli-HUS including the following:
- Stroke
- Blindness
- Seizures
- Coma
- Chronic kidney failure
- Pancreatitis
- Hypertension
- Neurological complications
- Diabetes mellitus
- Heart failure
- Death
Young children are at high risk of developing this illness because their immune systems are not fully developed. Once a young child has HUS, it often leads to critical illness because the kidneys are not developed enough to produce aldosterone, a hormone that regulates blood pressure. Without this hormone, the blood pressure can become dangerously high. This condition can lead to stroke, neurological problems, and a host of other extremely serious medical conditions.
Sadly, even after a young child survives HUS, he or she is at risk of having lifelong kidney problems, which could lead to needing more dialysis and/or a kidney transplant. In addition, it is possible your son or daughter may have to take blood pressure medication for the rest of his or her life. This is why our child safety lawyers work to get our young clients and their parents enough money to cover future medical expenses.