After their daughters ate a simple, on-the-go meal of walking tacos (taco fixings that can include ingredients such as lettuce, served in a bag of chips), the Murphy family of Green Bay, WI never expected what would happen next. Their two daughters, Jaelyn and Emma Murphy, soon fell ill with E.coli food poisoning. Jaelyn became so sick that she was hospitalized and diagnosed with a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Her father Bob Murphy, told WBAY-TV about the moment he and his wife Jennifer realized the gravity of her illness. He said, “I didn’t realize how serious it was until the pediatric intensivist…said, she might not make it. That hit home.”
Our E.coli food poisoning lawyers at Pritzker Hageman are representing the Murphy family, along with several other people sickened with E.coli infections. Many of our clients became sick after eating tainted lettuce, specifically romaine.
Contact the Pritzker Hageman E. coli Team
Phone: 1-888-377-8900 | Text: 1-612-261-0856
An Illness That Quickly Took a Turn for the Worse: Diagnosis with HUS
At first, the Murphys thought Jaelyn was sick with a viral illness — she was sluggish and had a fever but was still eating and drinking normally. Jaelyn’s illness got progressively worse, so her parents took her to urgent care, and then to the ER at St. Vincent Hospital. From there, Jaelyn was taken to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, where the Murphys found out her kidneys were failing due to HUS, which can be caused by Shiga-toxin-producing strains of E.coli. Jaelyn was put on dialysis and spent several days in isolation.
GET WELL SOON! Jaelyn was put on dialysis and spent several days in isolation. Her sister got sick from E. coli as well. https://t.co/g6x70mX1TI
— NBC15 News (@nbc15_madison) December 11, 2019
Currently, Jaelyn is on blood pressure medication and is slowly recovering from her illness. At this time, it is unknown whether the damage caused by her E.coli-HUS infection will affect Jaelyn for the rest of her life. “We have to do something with our food industry especially these products that are causing people to get sick,” her father told WBAY-TV.
Ongoing Romaine Lettuce E.coli Outbreaks
Our E.coli legal team is investigating three ongoing E.coli outbreaks linked to romaine lettuce. According to the latest update from the FDA, the source of all three outbreaks, each caused by a different strain of E.coli, is romaine lettuce from a single grower in Salinas, CA.
- E.coli Outbreak Linked to Romaine Lettuce Grown in Salinas, CA
- E.coli Outbreak Linked to Fresh Express Bagged Salad
- E.coli Outbreak at The Evergreens Restaurant