A Colorado Springs mother is suing McDonald’s and the Colorado branch of Taylor Farms after she and her daughter were sickened following an E. coli outbreak at the fast food giant in October.
The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 16 in Cook County, Ill., where the McDonald’s Corporation is headquartered. It alleges that 29-year-old Geovanna Zambrano and her 10-year-old daughter were both hospitalized after eating a Double Quarter-Pounder from the McDonald’s restaurant located at 390 S 8th St in Colorado Springs on Oct. 17.
By the following day, the two checked into Evans Army Community Hospital with symptoms consistent with E. coli poisoning, including severe vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. They were diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis — often called the stomach flu — and prescribed medication.
Zambrano filed the suit through Florida-based law firm Morgan and Morgan. The complaint from attorney Aaron Clite alleges strict liability, negligence and breach of implied warranties against McDonald’s and Taylor Farms Colorado for their distribution of the tainted onions responsible for the E. coli outbreak.
“The most basic duty of the companies that grow, package, cook and prepare our food is to not make us sick,” Clite said in a statement emailed to CPR News. “McDonald’s, which touts itself as the world’s largest fast-food chain, has failed to meet that baseline expectation.”
The October outbreak sickened at least 104 people in 14 states, with 34 hospitalized. The lone death from the outbreak was a Mesa County resident and four others developed a potentially life-threatening kidney disease complication.
The E. coli contamination was traced to yellow onions from Taylor Farms and served raw on Quarter Pounders in a number of states. McDonald’s briefly pulled the Quarter Pounder from its menu following the outbreak and Taylor Farms issued a voluntary recall of its yellow onions.
McDonald’s announced in November it was investing $100 million to bring customers back to its restaurants after slowing sales in the wake of the outbreak.
The Centers for Disease Control closed its investigation into the incident on Dec 3, determining it was no longer a safety risk.
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