PITTSBURGH – A local woman who sued hamburger chain Wendy’s for negligence after coming down with a case of E. coli food poisoning from a sandwich she ate there last summer, has voluntarily withdrawn her case.
Vanessa Camarillo initially filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 30 versus Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers of New York, LLC. Both parties are of Pittsburgh.
The suit explained that prior to the events at issue, a multi-state outbreak of E. coli food poisoning affected 37 individuals in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, ranging from July 26 to Aug. 8.
The suit said victims ranged in age from 6 to 91 years of age, with a median age of 21 years old, with 62 percent being male. Of 24 people with information available, 10 have been hospitalized and among that group, three people in Michigan have developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
No deaths have been reported.
The common link, the suit explained, is that of the 26 victims who have been interviewed, 22 (or 86 percent) reported eating at a Wendy’s restaurant in the week before their illness started and the victims had consumed a variety of menu items, including burgers and sandwiches, with Romaine lettuce being one of the most common ingredients eaten among the menu items in question.
“Plaintiff purchased and consumed a Wendy’s Baconator that contained Romaine lettuce, accompanied by French fries, on July 25, 2022. The sandwich was sold and distributed by defendant, was tainted with E. coli O157. On or about July 29, 2022, plaintiff became ill with the symptoms of Shigaproducing E. coli (STEC), including, among other things, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea,” the suit said.
“Plaintiff sought medical care at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and was admitted. Plaintiff was discharged once her condition stabilized. Plaintiff continues to recover from the effects of E. coli food poisoning.”
The suit alleged that Wendy’s was negligent in its practice of serving contaminated food products to its customers.
“The E. coli contaminated food product that Wendy’s prepared and sold was, at the time it left Wendy’s control, defective because it contained E. coli, a potentially lethal pathogen, and was thus in a condition not contemplated by the ultimate consumer,” the suit stated.
“The defective condition of the E. coli contaminated food product that Wendy’s prepared and sold caused the food product to be unreasonably dangerous because the contaminate product created a strong likelihood of injury to plaintiff, who was unaware of the danger of consuming the product in a normal manner.”
UPDATE
On Dec. 14, the plaintiff voluntarily withdrew her case through a praecipe to discontinue.
“Pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 229(a), kindly discontinue, without prejudice, the above-captioned action, which was commenced by the filing of a complaint on Aug. 30, 2022,” the praecipe stated.
For counts of strict liability, negligence and negligence per se and breach of warranty, the plaintiff was seeking damages in an amount that is fair and reasonable, for costs and for any other relief the Court deems proper.
The plaintiff was represented by Dion G. Rassias and Jill Johnston of The Beasley Firm in Philadelphia, plus Ron Simon of Ron Simon & Associates in Houston, Texas.
The defendant did not secure legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-22-010920
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com