Personal Injury Law

Outbreak of Severe Diarrheal Illness of E. coli O111 in Northeastern Oklahoma - 176 Sickened Linked to Country Cottage

Posted on August 30, 2008
The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) reports today that at least 176 persons have become ill as a result of the E. coli O111 outbreak in northeastern Oklahoma. Cases include 128 adults and 48 children. Federal and state health officials say E...

Grass-Fed vs Grain-Fed Beef and the Holy Grail: A Literature Review

Posted on August 30, 2008
Several people have commented that switching from grain to grass feeding could be one of the solutions to the problem with foodborne pathogens in cattle and other livestock. Quotes like these are becoming more common on the Internet and in recent media reports: “Products from grass-fed animals are safer than food from conventionally-raised animals...

Canadian Listeria Deaths Hit 15 Linked to Maple Leaf Meats

Posted on August 30, 2008
My wife and 16-year-old daughter spent the week at the Democratic National Convention.  Me, I took our other 13-year-old and 9-year-old daughters to Hawaii for a few days in the surf and sun.  Yes, we did go to a laua - picture below the main course...

Over 70 Sickened, 50 Hospitalized and 1 Death Caused by E. coli O157:H7 Linked to Locust Grove Country Cottage

Posted on August 29, 2008
Outbreak of Severe Diarrheal Illness in Northeastern Oklahoma The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) has narrowed the focus of its investigation into a severe diarrheal outbreak in northeastern Oklahoma to the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, OK...

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With over 70 sickened, 50 hospitalized and 1 death, focus now is on what food item at Locust Grove Country Cottage Buffet was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7

Posted on August 29, 2008
People in Oklahoma are understandably concerned about what is causing their friends and neighbors to become sick – some severely so. Unfortunately, pin-pointing an E. coli-contaminated food item in a buffet is difficult. Most people at buffets eat many items, and the same items, making in difficult to determine which item independently is the vector for the illnesses...

E. coli Raw Milk Strikes Again - Report from Connecticut Department of Agriculture

Posted on August 29, 2008
On July 16th, 2008 the Connecticut Department of Agriculture began an investigation of a possible link between several reported illnesses and the consumption of Retail Raw Milk (unpasteurized milk). Recently we concluded that investigation. The investigation was prompted when the Department was notified by Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) Epidemiologists of 2 reported illnesses in which both patients had consumed Retail Raw Milk from a dairy licensed to produce Retail Raw Milk and pasteurized milk and milk products...

E. Coli O111 Found in Oklahoma Outbreak

Posted on August 29, 2008
The food borne illness outbreak in northeastern Oklahoma that has sickened more than 115, hospitalized 50 and taken one life is the latest emergence of the virulent and highly toxic E. coli bacterium. Most E. coli outbreaks in North America are subtypes of E...

Non-O157H7 Shig-Toxin E. coli liked to 73 illneses, 50 hospitalizations, likely 6 children still on dialysis and 1 death

Posted on August 29, 2008
According to Kim Archer of the Tulsa World, Oklahoma state health officials have determined that a relatively rare and virulent form of E. coli infected dozens of patrons of Country Cottage, killing one and sickening more than 73 people.  More than 50 of those who fell ill were hospitalized...

USDA Does a "No Brainer"

Posted on August 28, 2008
It is good to see an Agency do something that makes sense. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a proposed rule to amend the Federal meat inspection regulations to initiate a complete ban on the slaughter of cattle that become non-ambulatory after initial inspection by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection program personnel...

Salmonella Saintpaul Outbreak Officially Over

Posted on August 28, 2008
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the salmonella outbreak that's sickened more than 1,440 people appears to be over.  A joint probe by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration has found strong evidence that jalapeno peppers were a major carrier of the bacteria, and that serrano peppers were also a carrier...

40 sickened, 17 hospitalized and 1 death in Oklahoma E. coli Outbreak in Bixby, Broken Arrow, Locust Grove, McAlester, Peggs, Pryor, Sand Springs and Tulsa. Answers are needed.

Posted on August 27, 2008
Oklahoma State health officials say at least 17 people have been hospitalized and 40 or more cases are being investigated after a severe illness outbreak in northeast Oklahoma. At least one person -- 26-year-old Pryor bank employee Chad Ingle -- has died as a result of the illness...

Raw Milk Debate Continues with SB201

Posted on August 27, 2008
Dear Senator, I am writing to you because I have grave concerns with a bill currently before you – SB201. I urge that you vote against the bill as written. Raw milk is at the center of a nationwide controversy over its potential value as a nutritional food versus the severe illnesses that can result from contaminated product...

Maple Leaf Listeria linked to 12 deaths: health officials

Posted on August 26, 2008
Canadian health officials now say 12 deaths have been linked to a listeriosis outbreak from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in North York, Ontario. The spike in deaths is because they have reworked the definition to include any cases where Listeria is an underlying or contributing factor to a person's illness, said Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz at a news conference Monday afternoon...

Oklahoma E. coli Outbreak Claims One Life, Sickens Many

Posted on August 26, 2008
A food borne illness outbreak in northeastern Oklahoma has sickened as many as 30 and taken one life. Although lab results are not in, signs point to the highly toxic E. coli O157:H7 bacteria as the culprit. Many of the ill have eaten at the same restaurants, and leads are being followed to determine the source...

One dead, 11 sickened in possible E. coli outbreak - Locust Grove, Oklahoma Implicated

Posted on August 25, 2008
One person died and 11 others are suffering from illnesses possibly related to E. coli, a St. Francis Hospital spokeswoman confirmed late Sunday. The 11 people with illnesses remained as St. Francis patients late Sunday, the spokeswoman said. Leslea Bennett-Webb, communications director for the Oklahoma Department of Health, confirmed at least 10 people were taken to the hospital after eating at a restaurant in Locust Grove...

Chad Ingle, 28, dies of E. coli after eating at Country Cottage in Locust Grove

Posted on August 25, 2008
The Oklahoma State Department of Health has issued a press release regarding the illnesses of nearly three dozen people, including one person who died over the weekend. The outbreak affected people from several communities, including Bixby, Pryor, Sand Springs, Locust Grove, Broken Arrow, Peggs, Tulsa, and McAlester...

E. coli Outbreak Linked to Country Cottage in Locust Grove - Ill from Tulsa, Locust Grove, Bixby, Beggs and Pryor - Over 30 sickened, one death.

Posted on August 25, 2008
A spokesperson with St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa says doctors are treating 12 patients suspected of E. coli poisoning.  The health department says between 10-20 people have been treated and released from other hosptitals in northeastern Oklahoma...

Governor Schwarzenegger, Veto This Bill!

Posted on August 21, 2008
An ambitious and well-meaning attempt to make California’s dairy products safer arrives this week in the California Assembly in the form of State Bill 201—but the country’s top food safety advocates are calling on California legislators to vote against it...

Nebraska Beef, are you really dropping the suit against the Church Ladies?

Posted on August 21, 2008
On August 10, 2008 the following appeared in the Washington Post: In August 2006, federal meat inspectors threatened to suspend operations at the packing house for not following requirements for controlling E. coli. The company corrected the problem a week later, USDA records show...

Who Poisoned our Peppers?

Posted on August 19, 2008
What if the great 2008 Tomato, right Pepper, Salmonella Outbreak actually happened this way? At 10:00 PM last May 30th, on the same day New Mexico asked for help from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) with a growing outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul, a foreign Network begin airing a video taken inside a fresh produce distribution center showing workers treating peppers with an unknown liquid...

Nebraska Beef meet Evelyn Stewart Your E. coli O157:H7 Victim

Posted on August 19, 2008
You should be ashamed.  On June 26, she was transferred to the Archbold Memorial Hospital Medical Intensive Care Unit in Thomasville, GA, where she continues to battle the complications of the infection.

Student sickened by E. coli-Tainted Lettuce files Suit

Posted on August 19, 2008
Blog Release: A victim of the June 2008 lettuce E. coli outbreak in Thurston and Pierce counties filed suit today in the Superior Court of Washington, King County.  Heather Whybrew of Federal Way, Washington was a student at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland when she was infected with E...

"Say it ain't so Joe"..... Errrr, David, the Food Czar

Posted on August 19, 2008
Garance Burke, the pied piper of pepper reporting, added fuel to the flames lapping at what is left of a once proud Federal Agency – the FDA.  Her story of a few hours ago, “Mexican peppers posed problem long before outbreak,” is less shocking than pathetic...

Raw Milk - E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria - Equals Illnesses, Equals Lawsuits

Posted on August 18, 2008
Here are some links to stories on raw milk-related illnesses that we have, or have had, the honor to represent the ill person or persons (mainly kids), and the status of the cases. Dee Creek An outbreak of E. coli bacteria that has sickened 11 or more people, four critically, has been linked to a dairy that was ordered by the state in August to stop selling raw milk...

Who Does the USDA Really Protect When It Comes to Deadly E. coli?

Posted on August 18, 2008
Guest Blog by Denis W. Stearns: On October 3, 2002 I submitted a petition to the USDA in which I asked the agency to explicitly clarify whether a USDA policy that appeared to allow the deadly pathogen E. coli O157:H7 on so-called “intact meat” applied to meat sold to retail outlets like grocery stores and restaurants...

PETA is Full of SHIT-A - PETA Shows Itself To Be Tone Deaf in its Lack of Concern for Boy Scout E. coli Illnesses

Posted on August 16, 2008
While young children struggle with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome and others recover slowly for E. coli O157:H7 illnesses, PETA does something incredibly stupid; it writes a public letter extolling the virtues of eating vegan. Although hamburger (whether from grass or grain feed beef) of late should clearly be avoided, spinach, lettuce, sprouts and other vegetables and fruits (organic or not so) have been shown to carry E...

Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Serranos, Salmonella Saintpaul and 1,423 Ill

Posted on August 16, 2008
The salmonella outbreak seems to be finally winding down, but the FDA still can not yet say how the few tainted Mexican peppers they have found could explain such widespread illness. The outbreak is not considered over yet, Food and Drug Administration food safety chief Dr...

A Recent View of Nebraska Beef from the Younger Generation

Posted on August 15, 2008
A bit of art from my young friend Fredrick the Artist: I think this drawing/painting has something to do with the "End Time" - not to be confused with Bankruptcy.  So, from Frederick's Mom's blog: ... Frederick was incensed that not only would pathogens find its way into beef and deprive me of burgers, but that the company providing the beef would actually blame others for resulting illnesses...

E. coli, Nebraska Beef, the number 666 and Kroger Finally puts up Warning Signs - What is Whole Foods Doing?

Posted on August 15, 2008
A friend of mine, who is a bit too much on the religious side, noted that with the recent recall of 160,000 pounds of meat, Nebraska Beef has now recalled 6.66 million pounds on meat – the sign of the Beast - in the past month.  Well, Nebraska Beef did sue a church once - payback is a bitch...

The Science of E. coli in Beef, that is "Political Science"

Posted on August 14, 2008
A friend just sent me a link to Omaha Action 3 News – “Recall Ridden Beef Plant Stays Open: Why?” Good question and I love the first line – “Another day, another recall from one specific South Omaha meat packing plant.” Here is the fun part: An Action 3 News investigation has found ties between the South Omaha plant and Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson...

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