A Michigan college student has filed a lawsuit against a Detroit meat packing company claiming she was hospitalized after eating meat in April allegedly produced by the Wolverine Packing Co.
The suit comes after the company recalled 1.8 million pounds of ground beef for possible contamination with E. coli.
Tamminga is the first person to allege that she was sickened in an outbreak that federal health officials said has been linked to 11 E. coli illnesses in at least 15 states. Five of those cases were detected in Michigan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Of the cases reported so far, illnesses began between April 22 and May 2, the CDC added.
NBC News reported that Rachel Tamminga’s lawsuit claims that after she ate ground beef manufactured and sold by Wolverine Packing Co. at a Farmington, Michigan restaurant and at least one other location, she became severely ill and was diagnosed with an E. coli infection.
According to the complaint, Tamminga developed bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal pains and spent a night lying on her bathroom floor. She had to leave school in the middle of finals week and spent six days in the hospital. She was diagnosed with an E. coli 0157:H7 infection and required intravenous drugs, anti-nausea drugs and pain medications, the complaint said. After she was discharged from the hospital, blood tests revealed that she was anemic due to blood loss, and according to the complaint, alleges that she “continues to suffer from weakness and gastrointestinal discomfort.”
Tamminga is suing Wolverine for selling contaminated meat. She is using several different legal theories, not uncommon in product liability cases, which usually include negligence, violation of warranty and strict liability. She is seeking $25,000 in damages, as well as compensation for other harm, according to the complaint.
Wolverine officials say none of the company’s meat tested positive for E. coli 0157 and they issued the recall as a precaution.
For more information, contact one of our Gacovino Lake attorneys at 1-800-246-HURT (4878).
