Parents Stacey and Brian Peterson, residents of Elgin, filed a lawsuit on behalf of their minor child through their attorneys, Marler Clark, LLP and Newland & Newland, LLP, and against defendant, ORGANICLIFE, LLC, an Illinois company that prepares food for school lunches based in Wheeling Illinois.
Gary A. Newland, a trial lawyer that represents people injured from food poisoning, believes lawsuits will help deter food poisoning in the future and cause companies to take steps that will reduce the number of food poisoning cases.
In October of 2013, the Lake County Health Department became aware of two stool specimens collected from two students at St. Anne Catholic School. There is evidence many others were made ill from the Salmonella from other schools. It should be noted Lake County Health Department found no problems with the kitchen at St. Anne Catholic School. On October 9, 2012, according to attorney Gary A. Newland, an outbreak was confirmed as several students were diagnosed with a strain of food poisoning called Salmonella Enteritidis.
Illinois Department of Public health alerted local departments in the area about the cluster at St. Anne Catholic School. It appeared thereafter that children in six different private schools that were provided meal service by OrganicLife had also become sick. The child involved in the lawsuit was diagnosed with Salmonellosis Enteriditis which is an acute bacterial infection that causes severe gastrointestinal illness.
Salmonella can be fatal if not treated properly. It can also result in permanent life altering problems, although most people fully recover. Food poisoning, in general, is an epidemic throughout the country and can generally be avoided if measures are taken to remove sick people from the work environment and to ensure hands are washed. Sometimes it is difficult to tell where the food poisoning took place; however, the cause can be traced, in some cases, back to the farm or factory where the food comes from, as well as the store or restaurant where the food is purchased by the consumer.
The claim is pending in Cook County Illinois Law Division.
Attorney Gary Newland is a member of the national attorney network on LawyerCentral.com.
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