Yes, if the facts of your case support your claim, you can sue a restaurant, caterer, retailer, supplier, distributor, etc., if your Cyclospora infection (cyclosporiasis) can be connected to that business. For example, if you ate salsa containing cilantro at a restaurant and then were diagnosed with cyclosporiasis, which causes severe diarrhea, you may have a claim against the restaurant, the companies that imported and supplied cilantro to the restaurant. Your case will be stronger if you were part of a cluster of illnesses (an outbreak) where a statistically significant number of the people sickened ate at the same restaurant as you did before you got sick.
Because cyclosporiasis causes extreme diarrhea—watery, explosive and lasting weeks or months—a Cyclospora lawsuit should seek compensation for lost wages, even if you were able to use up your sick leave. If your illness was caused by contaminated cilantro, you should be paid for the sick days you had to use as you sat home unable to leave because you couldn’t be too far from a bathroom. Also, many places of employment do not allow employees to work when they have diarrhea. This was not your fault, and you should get compensation.
The key is connecting your illness to a specific restaurant, event or retailer.
Cyclospora on the Rise in the U.S.
To date this year, 495 ill persons have had confirmed cases Cyclospora infection. Some of these people traveled abroad and may have contracted their illnesses in other countries. However, 293 people, 59 percent of 495:
- Experienced onset of illness on or after May 1, 2015, and
- Did not have a history of international travel within 2 weeks before illness onset.
It is these 293 who may have claims against distributors, suppliers, restaurants, retailers and others. These 293 persons were from the following 23 states:
Arkansas (3), California (2), Connecticut (3), Florida (10), Georgia (23), Illinois (8), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (10), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Montana (3), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (6), New Mexico (2), New York (excluding NYC) (9), New York City (21), North Carolina (1), Texas (168), Utah (1), Virginia (3), Washington (2), and Wisconsin (10).
Clusters of illness linked to restaurants or events have been identified in Texas, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Cluster investigations are ongoing in Texas and Georgia. Cluster investigations in Wisconsin and Texas have preliminarily identified cilantro as a suspect vehicle. Investigations are ongoing to identify specific food item(s) linked to the cases that are not part of the identified clusters.
There are also reports of illness associated with cilantro purchased at national retail stores, according to a lawsuit recently filed by a supplier of cilantro against a distributor who imports cilantro from Mexico.
If you can provide additional information or would like to discuss filing a lawsuit, you can submit the form above or call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free).