Our law firm has been contacted by people reporting illness after eating at Captain Al’s Steak and Shrimp, a restaurant located at 11268 Lorraine Rd, Gulfport, Mississippi.
We are now investigating to determine if there is evidence to support a claim for compensation due to E. coli food poisoning. To contact our E. coli lawyers, use our Free Consultation Form or call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free).
The reported dates of exposure were from December 16 to December 30, 2016. According to the Mississippi Department of Health:
“As of January 11, 2017 MSDH has identified more than 50 individuals with an acute gastroenteritis after eating at the restaurant. The primary symptoms reported are diarrhea (83%), stomach cramps (76%), chills (57%), headache (51%), nausea (39%), and fever (34%). Bloody stools were reported by 13% of cases. The incubation period ranges from 2 to 146.5 hours, with a median of 24 hours; the duration of illness is between 5 to 21 days, with a median of 10 days.”
The outbreak was first made public on Captain Al’s Facebook page:
“… Right before Christmas we started getting some reports of people being ill after eating here. We Spoke with the Health department on getting down to the bottom of the cause and continued to work with them on it. They wanted to investigate and research all avenues to solve the problem. In the process of working with them we continued to remodel the restaurant. They have informed us a form of e coli was the culprit and everything on our end is good. We will be back open starting tomorrow at 11am. Problem Solved and Moving Forward! Something’s are out of your control. We want to send out our deepest apology to anyone who got ill and hope that you will give us another chance in the future.”
The following questions need answers:
- What specific food item was contaminated?
- If a food item is pinpointed, who was the supplier, processor, grower, etc.?
- If a food item is pinpointed, where and when did the contamination happen?
- What food poisoning prevention measures were taken from farm to fork?
- If a food item is not pinpointed, is there evidence that a sick employee caused the alleged outbreak?
- If a food item is not pinpointed, is there sufficient evidence to pursue an E. coli lawsuit?
Even if a specific, contaminated menu item is not found, it is often possible to sue restaurant for food poisoning. This is one way to hold the restaurant accountable for selling bad food.
Our law firm is one of the few in the United States that has successfully handled numerous E. coli poisoning cases. We recently won a $7.5 million verdict on behalf of a 10-year-old boy who contracted an E. coli infection and then developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe complication that causes kidney failure and often damages other organs, including the pancreas, liver, heart and brain. We have also helped people who developed severe colitis and/or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), which is similar to HUS but more often affects the central nervous system and causes permanent brain damage.
Colitis can kill tissue in the colon and cause enough damage to require surgery to remove part of the colon. This surgery is called a colectomy.
Signs of HUS and TTP include the following:
- Stroke
- Seizures
- Coma
- Heart arrhythmia
- Hemolytic anemia
- Heart failure
- Acute and chronic renal failure
- Severe abdominal pain
- Pancreatitis
- Enlarged liver
- Hypertension.