Pritzker Hageman attorneys have filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman who contracted a Cyclospora infection (cyclosporiasis) after eating salad at the Olive Garden restaurant located at 367 Collins Rd NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 5, 2013. The lawsuit was filed against Darden Corporation, a Florida corporation, and Taylor Fresh Foods, a Delaware corporation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Iowa Department of Public Health have found a link between over 140 cases of cyclosporiasis in Iowa and eating salad at an Olive Garden restaurant. The restaurants implicated in the outbreak got their salad mix, branded Taylor Farms, from Taylor Fresh Foods.
According to the lawsuit, about seven days after eating at the Cedar Rapids Olive Garden, the Iowa woman began suffering diarrhea, fatigue and cramping. She was still sick on July 9, a month after eating at Olive Garden, when she was diagnosed with a cyclosporiasis. She continues to suffer from being infected with this parasite.
Iowa has 148 confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis. The city hardest hit is Cedar Rapids. The 39 Iowa counties with outbreak victims include the following: Linn (44), Polk (19), Dubuque (8), Pottawattamie (7), Dallas (7), Woodbury (6), Buchanan (5), Webster (4), Black Hawk (4), Boone (4), Fayette (4), O’brien (3), Des Moines (3), Jones (2), Mills (2), Story (2), Monona (2), Floyd (1), Winneshiek (1), Carroll (1), Cass (1), Union (1), Benton (1), Washington (1), Iowa (1), Cedar (1), Plymouth (1), Lucas (1), Johnson (1), Marshall (1), Dickinson (1), Hancock (1). Poweshiek (1), Wright (1), Keokuk (1), Allamakee (1), Van Buren (1), Butler (1) and Montgomery (1).
Most of the cyclosporiasis outbreak victims are from Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and Florida. Other people sickened in this outbreak live in Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.