Wendy’s was hit by an E.coli outbreak this past August and now dozens of people are suing due to complications that arose from getting sick.
A total of 109 people got sick during the late summer bout with the bacterial borne illness.
The ailments ranged from stomachaches to headaches, to even more serious complications, involving kidneys.
Every person that had been stricken had been determined to have eaten at Wendy’s.
The outbreak was traced back to the mid-west with over 50 cases originating from a Wendy’s in Michigan.
Attorney Bill Marler is representing 39 people spread over 6 states.
He told woodtv.com: “Some of them have risks of long-term kidney complications,” Marler said.
“You have 13 people who suffered a near-death experience by eating a sandwich at Wendy’s.”
The CDC opened an investigation to track down the source of contamination that was getting people sick but were unable to come to a conclusion as the outbreak had ran its course.
The only common denominator that they could find was that everyone had been to and eaten at Wendy’s.
The attorney believes that the likely source of contamination is from romaine lettuce hailing from the West – California, and Arizona.
There have been repeat occurrences of the western lettuce being a source of the E.coli.
Wendy’s removed the lettuce from their sandwiches during the outbreak to try and contain the situation.
“It’s Wendy’s choice to buy lettuce that’s grown in Salinas and grown in Yuma, Arizona,” Marler explained. “The problem is that restaurants, stores aren’t taking as much time and putting enough pressure on their supply chain to gown this products in areas that the products won’t get contaminated.”
The lawsuits have been filed against the Wendy’s corporation and franchisees with filers seeking compensation for damages and medical care.
