Iowa Residents Agree to Settlement in Taco John's Food Poising Lawsuit
A food poisoning lawsuit filed by two Iowa residents who became ill after eating tainted lettuce at Taco John's restaurants has been settled out of court.
Karen Hibben-Levi and the parents of Autumn Saul had filed lawsuits against the Taco John's franchise holders after Hibben-Levi and Saul contracted E. coli poisoning.
Hibben-Levi and Saul were two of 81 people who reported illness after eating at Taco John's restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota in late November and early December of 2006. Lettuce tainted with a strain of the E. coli bacteria was linked to the food poisoning that caused 26 people to be hospitalized.
Two of the victims developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication that can cause permanent kidney damage.
Hibben-Levi and Saul were both hospitalized for days after they became ill after eating at Taco John's. Public health officials said at the time that food at Taco John's restaurants in Austin and Albert Lea, Minn., and Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa, were tainted.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, 47 people from Iowa, 33 people from Minnesota, and one person from Wisconsin reported E. coli food poisoning after eating at a Taco John's restaurant.
In Black Hawk County health officials identified 33 people who became ill (14 hospitalized) with E. coli infections after eating at the Cedar Falls restaurant.
The strain of E. coli was traced to produce growers in California.
Reference:
"Iowa Pair Agree to Settlement in Taco John's Lawsuit," AP, December 2007.
