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The Lance Firm, P.C. is a Salt Lake City, Utah, based injury law firm that handles food poison injury claims across the country. We have and continue to associate with national food poison experts and have resolved many different food injury claims.
What Is Food Poisoning?
Food poisoning comes from eating foods that contain germs like bad bacteria or toxins, which are poisonous substances. Bacteria are all around us, so mild cases of food poisoning are common. You may have had mild food poisoning, with diarrhea and an upset stomach, many times people call it a stomach bug or stomach virus.You might think the solution is to get rid of all the bacteria. But it isn't possible and you wouldn't want to do it, even if you could. Bacteria are all around us, including in food, and sometimes they can be good for you. Problems arise however, when producers and retailers fail to prevent and get rid of the bad bacteria in our food supply in places like spinach, tomatoes, or peppers. Serious injuries arise and victims need legal help from an experienced food poisoning lawyer.
Which Germs and Bacteria Are to Blame?
Foods from animals, raw foods, and unwashed vegetables all can contain germs that cause food poisoning. The most likely source is food from animals, like meat, poultry (such as chicken), eggs, milk, and shellfish (such as shrimp). Some of the most common bacteria are: Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter and E. Coli.
Do I Have Food Poisoning?
Someone who has food poisoning might:
Sometimes feeling sick from food poisoning shows up within hours of eating the bad food. At other times, someone may not feel sick until several days later. With mild cases of food poisoning, you will not feel sick for very long and will soon be feeling fine again.It can be hard to tell if you have food poisoning or something else. You might do a little detective work and see who else gets the same sickness. Did they eat the same thing you did? If only people who ate that food got sick, food poisoning could be the problem.It's one thing to get food poisoning from something in your fridge, but imagine how many people could get sick if a restaurant served food that had these bad germs in it or if a manufacturer prepares or packages food improperly. When that happens, people from the health department get involved and try to figure out what happened and make sure everyone gets the medical care they need. Other times, despite medical care, permanent damage is done. When these things happen, you need legal help. You need an attorney that is experienced in these matters and knows exactly what to do.If you or someone you love has become seriously ill from food poisoning, contact us for a free legal consultation. You can reach our food poison personal lawyers by calling (801) 333-7300 or by filling in our online consulting form.
E. Coli
There are many strains of E. coli bacteria. As a result, microbiologists categorize them into more than 170 serogroups and then further break down each serogroup into one or more serotypes. The serogroup is indicated by a number, and the serotype follows and is separated by a colon. The E. coli strain primarily responsible for E. coli-related injury and death is classified as Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli 0157:H7); it belongs to the 0157 serogroup and the H7 serotype. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a rare variety of E. coli that causes severe damage to the lining of the intestine. Specifically, the acute disease caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 is hemorrhagic colitis. Escherichia coli O157:H7 can also result in hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 1999 that 73,000 cases of E. coli O157:H7 occur each year in the United States. Approximately 2,000 people are hospitalized, and 60 people die as a direct result of E. coli O157:H7 infections and complications. The majority of infections are likely foodborne-related, although E. coli O157:H7 accounts for less than 1% of all foodborne illness.
E. coli O157:H7 bacteria are believed to live in the intestines of cattle but have also been found in the intestines of chicken, deer, sheep, goats, and pigs. E. coli O157:H7 does not make the animals that carry it ill; rather, they are merely the reservoir for the bacteria.
While most E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks have involved ground beef, other outbreaks have involved unpasteurized apple and orange juice, unpasteurized milk, alfalfa sprouts, spinach and water. Outbreak can also be caused by person-to-person transmission of the bacteria in homes and in settings like daycare centers, hospitals, and nursing homes.
If you or someone you love has become seriously ill from E. Coli food poisoning, contact us for a free legal consultation. You can reach our E. Coli food poison personal injury lawyers by calling (801) 333-7300 or by filling in our online consulting form.
Salmonella
Salmonella is one of the most common enteric (intestinal) infections in the United States. Salmonellosis (the disease caused by Salmonella) is the second most common foodborne illness after Campylobacter infection. It is estimated that 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis occur each year in the U.S.; 95% of those cases are foodborne-related. Approximately 220 of each 1000 cases result in hospitalization and eight of every 1000 cases result in death. About 500 to 1,000 or 31% of all food-related deaths are caused by Salmonella infections each year. Salmonellosis is more common in the warmer months of the year.
Salmonella infection occurs when the bacteria are ingested, typically from food derived from infected food-animals, but it can also occur by ingesting the feces of an infected animal or person. Food sources include raw or undercooked eggs/egg products, raw milk or raw milk products, contaminated water, meat and meat products, and poultry. Raw fruits and vegetables contaminated during slicing have been implicated in several foodborne outbreaks. We are involved in representing families of children who have suffered from this bacterium.
If you or someone you love has become seriously ill from Salmonella food poisoning, contact us for a free legal consultation. You can reach our Salmonella food poison personal injury lawyers by calling (801) 333-7300 or by filling in our online consulting form.
Listeria
 Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium commonly found in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, and food. Each bacterium is Gram-positive and rod-shaped. Listeria are known to be the bacteria responsible for listeriosis, a rare but lethal food-borne infection that has a devastating mortality rate of 25% (Salmonella, in comparison, has a less than 1% mortality rate). They are incredibly hardy and able to grow in temperatures ranging from 4°C (39°F), the temperature of a refrigerator, to 37°C (99°F), the body's internal temperature. Furthermore, listerosis's deadliness can be partially attributed to the infection's ability to spread to the nervous system and cause meningitis. Finally, Listeria has a particularly high occurrence rate in newborns because of its ability to infect the fetus by penetrating the endothelial layer of the placenta. If you or someone you love has become seriously ill from Listeria food poisoning, contact us for a free legal consultation. You can reach our Listeria food poison personal injury lawyers by calling (801) 333-7300 or by filling in our online consulting form.
Campylobacter
In the United States, an estimated 2.1 to 2.4 million cases of human campylobacter- iosis (illnesses ranging from loose stools to dysentery) occur each year. Commonly reported symptoms of patients with laboratory-confirmed infections (a small subset of all cases) include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramping. In one study, approximately half of the patients with laboratory-confirmed campylobacter- iosis reported a history of bloody diarrhea. Less frequently, C. jejuni infections produce bacteremia, septic arthritis, and other extraintestinal symptoms. The incidence of campylobacteriosis in HIV-infected patients is higher than in the general population. For example, in Los Angeles County between 1983 and 1987, the reported incidence of campylobacteriosis in patients with AIDS was 519 cases per 100,000 population, 39 times higher than the rate in the general population. Common complications of campylobacteriosis in HIV-infected patients are recurrent infection and infection with antimicrobial-resistant strains. Deaths from C. jejuni infection are rare and occur primarily in infants, the elderly, and patients with underlying illnesses.
If you or someone you love has become seriously ill from Campylobacter food poisoning, contact us for a free legal consultation. You can reach our campylobacter food poison personal injury lawyers at our Salt Lake City, Utah based law firm by calling (801) 333-7300 or by filling in our online consulting form.
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