A number of Minneapolis and St. Paul residents, along with three Minnesotans who live outside the Twin Cities metro area have been identified as case-patients in an outbreak of toxic E. coli O157:NM associated with alfalfa sprouts from Jack & the Green Sprouts, a producer from River Falls, Wisconsin. This is the second multi-state food poisoning outbreak from alfalfa sprouts recorded in the United States in 2016 and our law firm is providing free consultations to individuals and families harmed by the contamination. Any Jack & The Green Sprouts lawsuit would likely be filed in federal court and litigation could draw in other companies responsible for selling any of these sprouts adulterated with microscopic E. coli bugs.
First of all, the Minnesota Department of Health has advised consumers not to eat alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Two Minnesota case-patients have been hospitalized and the victims of this outbreak range in age from 18 to 84 years old. Two additional cases of E. coli O157 infection in Wisconsin are considered part of this outbreak and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is involved in stopping it. Based on Jack & The Green Sprouts distribution network, it’s possible the outbreak has spread to other states. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are involved in the investigation.
Anyone sickened in the outbreak can use our free consultation form to find out if they can sue Jack & The Green Sprouts for E. coli from alfalfa sprouts. Our law firm is located in downtown Minneapolis. We are one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have recovered tens of millions of dollars for E. coli outbreak clients.
Our E.coli litigation team put together five reasons why it’s important to consider litigation:
- When a lawsuit is filed, attorneys can get early access to relevant corporate and health department documents. Without a lawsuit, it’s difficult if not impossible to obtain all the relevant information.
- By filing now, there is more assurance that available insurance money is not depleted by payments to other victims. At times, food poisoning outbreaks have prompted companies to go bankrupt, further limiting the amount of money available for E. coli victims and their families.
- A lawsuit crystallizes the food safety message that victims can send to food purveyors. Litigation is an important part of America’s emphasis on food safety because it establishes consequences for lax protocols.
- When the media covers this, they want to have contact with the victim or his/her family so they can tell the story from the standpoint of the victim. This allows people like you to be a voice for food safety and the reforms necessary to prevent this from happening to someone else. Our clients have been featured in major news publications and have testified before Congress.
- Food poisoning litigation can help the family get money to pay medical bills and other expenses. This is particularly important when the victim develops a serious complication, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) or severe hemorrhagic colitis (colectomy). Patients with these complications are often hospitalized for weeks or months.
The Minnesota Department of Health has indicated that retailers and restaurants should not sell or serve alfalfa sprouts produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts. This outbreak was discovered by routine disease monitoring by the state Health Department. The case-patients have been sickened by E. coli bacteria that share the same DNA fingerprint. This sort of molecular subtyping is critical to your case.
The Health Department said there is no evidence that other products produced by Jack & The Green Sprouts are contaminated.