Our law firm is representing over 60 people who contracted cyclosporiasis after eating at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants in Iowa and Nebraska this summer (2013). The evidence points to lettuce salad supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico as the food contaminated with Cyclospora cayetanensis, the parasite that causes cyclosporiasis infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our clients experienced extreme bouts of diarrhea that prevented them from going to work and living normal lives during the illness.
“At last count, 140 people in Iowa and 87 people in Nebraska were sickened in this outbreak of Cyclospora infections,” said attorney Fred Pritzker, who recently won $45 million for clients who sued another company for illnesses caused by a defective product. “The evidence is pointing to Taylor Farms de Mexico mixed salad, which consisted of iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, green leaf, red cabbage, and carrots.” You can contact Fred and his team for a free consultation (click here now) about a personal injury lawsuit against Olive Garden and Red Lobster owner Darden Corporation and Taylor Farms de Mexico.
We are helping outbreak victims get compensation for lost wages, physical pain, emotional distress and other damages. We are not planning on filing a class action lawsuit because our clients will be better served with individual lawsuits.
Yesterday, the FDA released additional information about the outbreak, its Environmental Assessment. The FDA found points of possible cross-contamination at the Taylor Farms de Mexico processing plant, specifically at the lettuce washing station. The FDA then did an environmental evaluation of lettuce fields that supplied lettuce to Taylor Farms for the implicated salad mix that was served at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. The FDA found that the hand washing faucets observed on the portable sanitary facilities at the assessed ranches could create a potential for cross-contamination in that the employees must handle the valves before and after washing their hands to turn the water on and off.
The FDA recommended that the growers establish procedures for the hand washing facilities to minimizing the potential for the facility to serve as a source of contamination.
