A Nebraska woman sickened with E. coli and hospitalized after eating a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder filed a lawsuit Friday against the fast food chain. The woman, who was not identified by name in the lawsuit, is one of three people sickened in the current outbreak who are represented by food safety lawyer William Marler.
“Two of them have been hospitalized, but for a relatively short period of time,” Marler told Yahoo News prior to filing the lawsuit, noting that he was in discussions with “a handful” of other victims. “Everybody who has eaten a Quarter Pounder in the last month is concerned that they’re going to get sick.”
The Nebraska woman, who is 38 and married, purchased a Quarter Pounder from a McDonald's restaurant in Waverly, Neb., on September 28, but did not begin "exhibiting symptoms" consistent with E. coli, such as "stomach pain and diarrhea" until Oct. 3, the lawsuit states. On Oct. 6, she went to a hospital emergency room and was treated and later released. Two days later, her stool sample tested positive for E. coli. She is seeking unspecified monetary damages from the company.
On Thursday, McDonald’s said that the source of the E. coli bacteria was slivered onions sourced to the California-based produce company Taylor Farms. The fast food chain pulled Quarter Pounders from its menus in several affected states. The company did not respond to a request for comment from Yahoo News regarding the lawsuit.
As of Friday, 75 people in 13 states had been infected with E. coli after eating Quarter Pounders, one of those has died and 22 have been hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Several other fast food chains, including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Burger King, have also pulled raw onions from some of their restaurants this week. Taylor Farms also issued a recall notice for raw onion products.
“Taylor Farms is a huge company,” Marler said. I’m not surprised that you’re seeing other fast food outlets starting to recall onions because they got them from Taylor Farms as well. Whether those onions were contaminated, unfortunately you’re going to have to wait until people start showing up in hospitals. That’s kind of how this thing works.”
Taylor Farms did not respond to a request for comment.
In 1993, Marler, who is featured in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food represented several victims in an E. coli outbreak linked to tainted hamburger meat sold at Jack in the Box restaurants, obtaining what was then the largest food safety judgment in U.S. history.
E. coli, a bacteria that lives in the intestines of people and animals, can also spread to fruit and vegetables that come into contact with it.
“Usually with cases involving fresh fruits and vegetables, leafy greens, there’s a cow somewhere, a feed lot or a water supply that’s contaminated with E. coli,” Marler said. “That’s what the FDA is going to look for and what we’ll look for during the course of our litigation.”