Update: Attorney Eric Hageman won a wrongful death settlement for a family in this outbreak.
The Learning Vine daycare facility in Greenwood, South Carolina, has been associated with 4 laboratory-confirmed cases and 3 suspected cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacteria, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. The childcare facility is located at 101 Overland Drive in Greenwood, and it has been closed temporarily.
You Can Sue a Daycare for E. coli Food Poisoning
E. coli causes extreme pain and suffering in children and has severe complications. One of which is hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States. The associated blood clots and built up waste can cause multiple-organ failure, strokes, coma, pancreatitis and wrongful death.
You can contact our law firm if you want a free consultation with one of our E. coli lawyers regarding a lawsuit seeking justice and compensation.
As of Sunday, two of the sickened children were in the hospital. We have represented little ones who spent weeks and months in the hospital. And in every case, even those not involving hospitalization, there is a risk of future kidney disease and renal failure requiring a transplant. It is so tragic that one bite of contaminated food or one drink of contaminated water can cause such devastation.
According to South Carolina’s State Epidemiologist, Dr. Linda Bell, the specific source of the contamination that caused the outbreak has not been determined. Legally, this is not an issue, and parents and the sickened children have the right to sue the daycare facility for compensation, including amounts to pay medical bills and lost income, and compensation for pain and suffering.
The investigation to date has included:
- an onsite inspection of the Learning Vine in Greenwood, South Carolina, that included getting environmental swabs and food samples;
- more than 50 interviews;
- testing samples (fecal, food and environmental) for the presence of E. coli bacteria; and
- pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genetic testing on any E. coli found.
Children get sick from consuming food or water contaminated with the bacteria or from eating contaminated fecal matter, which can happen when hands are not washed well after a diaper change.