May 9, 2008 - Salmonella Poisoning Sparks Lawsuit in OH
An outbreak of Salmonella food poisoning at Casa Fiesta, a Huron County, Ohio restaurant, put 26 people in the hospital and is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by one of the victims. The suit, filed by Kody Dewitt, seeks over $25,000 for hospital expenses and hardship he claims he suffered after eating the salmonella tainted food at Casa Fiesta in late April.
The Ohio Department of health began investigating the restaurant after it was discovered that 26 patients suffering from salmonella food poisoning had all eaten at the restaurant on Milan Avenue. Health officials are unclear at this time as to the source of the contamination. Although the 26 people all ate at Casa Fiesta, the actual source remains difficult to pinpoint, because each individual ordered something different from the menu, and salmonella can be present on anything from meat and vegetable to ice. All tests that have been run thus far on food submitted from the restaurant have come back negative. The restaurant workers are expected to be tested by early next week.
Salmonella can occur when food is improperly handled or stored, or when the restaurant workers handling the food fail to wash and sanitize their hands. The organism is actually very common, but can cause severe and sometimes fatal illness in young children and the elderly or those with compromised immune systems. Healthy individuals who are infected with salmonella will experience nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting, diarrhea and fever within 12 to 72 hours. Laboratory testing can be done to confirm the presence of salmonella. Further testing may also be done to determine the specific strain in order to ensure the patient receives the right antibiotics.
In most cases, victims will recover in about a week, without the need for antibiotics, but occasionally hospitalization will be required, if the infection spreads from the infection into the bloodstream and other areas of the body. Without treatment, salmonella infections that have spread throughout the body can become very serious or even fatal. Unfortunately, some strains of the bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics, largely through the use of growth-promoting antibiotics that are given to feed animals. In rare cases, untreated salmonella infections will go on to cause joint pain and stiffness, irritation of the eyes and painful urination, a condition known as Reiter’s Syndrome. Untreated, this will go on for months or even years and while antibiotics will eventually kill off the bacteria, it is not uncommon for the patients to later develop chronic arthritis.
The 26 cases from Casa Fiesta all show the “classic symptoms”, according to Ohio health officials, but none appear to be developing Reiter’s Syndrome. The man who filed the lawsuit is claiming that shortly after he ate at Casa Fiesta on April 25th, he fell ill, requiring hospitalization, and in addition to lost wages, he claims that he has sustained permanent damage that will forever impair his earning capacity. Local news agencies in Ohio report that several of the 26 people are planning on filing lawsuits as well.
The Center for Disease Control reports that over 40,000 people contract Salmonella poisoning each year in the .
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