St. Louis Injury Lawyer Blog

A Subway restaurant became the defendant of a food poisoning lawsuit when 41 people allegedly became ill after eating at the same Illinois location.

MySuburbanLife.com reports that two couples had filed suit against the same Subway after discovering their food had been infected with the potentially lethal Shigella sonnei bacteria. One of the plaintiffs had been hospitalized for four days and was experiencing serious symptoms to the point of fearing for her life.

The restaurant closed for a health department investigation. The article reports that this type of bacteria can be spread not only by eating contaminated food, but also from person-to-person contact. The bacteria can be prevented with frequent hand washing.

The Illinois Department of Public Health estimates that 250,000 cases of food poisoning occur each year in the state. Although most cases are not serious and go unreported, in rare situations, food poisoning can cause hospitalization and/or death. Symptoms can show up anywhere between 30 minutes and two weeks of ingesting contaminated food.

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Several patrons of a popular downtown Edwardsville, Illinois restaurant and tavern became sick after dining in February of 2007. Three women dining together at Vanzo's were subsequently diagnosed with salmonella, along with several others.

Madison County Health officials investigated the claims. Vanzo's agreed to shut down for a period of time during the investigation and was sold soon thereafter unrelated to the outbreak.

All victims dealt with cramping, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea for a few weeks. One of the victims in her 20s was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis only 4 months after the incident and continues to deal with symptoms she did not have before the illness. Her physicians believe the illness triggered symptoms that otherwise may have remained dormant. Another victim was set to take the California bar exam, and was forced to take the exam one week later while suffering from ongoing symptoms.

Two of the lawsuits were filed on the arbitration docket in Madison County, Illinois, and arbitrators recently rendered verdicts in favor of two of the victims.

One of the theories of recovery in a food poisoning case is strict liability. Under the theory of strict liability, restaurants may be held "strictly liable" for certain activities that harm others, even if they have not acted negligently. One of the reasons for this protection is that restaurants are in the best position to protect their customers, and obviously customers are at their mercy.

What are the causes of salmonella poisoning? There are several ways. Food may be contaminated during food processing or food handling. The unwashed hands of an infected food handler will contaminate food. A frequent cause is a food handler who does not wash his or her hands with soap after using the bathroom.

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