Sandra Isaac, a resident of the Rochester area, became the first outbreak victim to file suit against State Garden, whose Spinach and Spring Garden Mix has been implicated as the source of the bacteria Tuesday.
According to the complaint, Isaac – a nurse at University Health’s St. Mary’s campus – ate the mixed greens October 16, 17, 18 and 19 in a variety of salads at work, before developing a gastrointestinal illness the evening of the 19th. After continuing to produce loose stools for several hours, she was forced to leave her nighttime shift early. Three days later, Isaac’s stool turned bloody and she began to vomit. Her husband rushed her to the emergency room, where she was treated for dehydration.
A CT scan taken at the hospital showed that Isaac’s colon had become badly inflamed and was bleeding.
Isaac was released from the hospital that day, but is still recovering from her illness at home, says the complaint, filed in district court with the Western District of New York by Marler Clark, the Seattle-based food safety firm that also underwrites Food Safety News.
Suspecting that Isaac’s illness might be associated with the state’s ongoing E. coli outbreak, officials from the New York State Department of Health collected a sample of the mixed greens she had been eating the previous week; the sample tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7.
The product, which has so far been linked to 19 illnesses in New York state, was sold at Wegmans supermarkets in the Northeast between October 14 and November 1.
Isaacs is seeking compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages and pharmaceutical costs, among other damages.
