The current outbreak of E. coli, stemming from an Arizona Federico’s, is now the largest E. coli outbreak of 2013.
The outbreak began on August 2, 2013 when the Maricopa County Departments of Public Health and Environmental Services, and the Arizona Department of Health Services wrote a joint press release alerting families in the area to 15 cases of bloody diarrhea, the main symptom of a toxic E. coli infection. In the press release, officials stated that the epicenter of the outbreak appeared to be linked to, or centered on, Federico’s Mexican Restaurant located at 13132 W. Camelback Road in the West Valley, just west of Phoenix.
According to E. coli information kept by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been as many as 68 confirmed cases of E. coli linked to the Phoenix-area Federico’s. These confirmed cases make this current outbreak of E. coli the largest since 2011.
Officials have also confirmed that the recent outbreak was caused by E. coli O157:H7, the most common type of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli tracked by the CDC. Local news reports have stated that 23 of the infected patients have been hospitalized with life-threatening E. coli HUS syndrome and other complications.
Although Federico’s was closed immediately following the outbreak, the restaurant has since reopened. This occurred even as private legal teams and health officials continue to try to determine, with certainty, what food or drink at the restaurant caused the initial outbreak, and precisely how the contamination occurred.
Litigation relating to the Federico’s outbreak has already begun with three separate victims having filed lawsuits in the Arizona court system. Many more similar lawsuits are on the way, as individuals and families recover their health and determine the costs they face because they were served contaminated food.
Have you or a member of your family faced life-threatening illness as a result of a food-borne illness in Massachusetts? If so, you may be entitled to significant personal injury damages or wrongful death damages. To learn about your legal options in a free and confidential consultation, please call our Boston, MA food poisoning lawyers, Boston personal injury lawyers or Massachusetts wrongful death attorneys today at 617-787-3700. You can also email our Massachusetts food contamination attorneys, Boston, MA personal injury lawyers and Boston, MA wrongful death lawyers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at info@gilhoylaw.com.
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