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A second lawsuit is pending against Pizza Ranch on behalf of a Nebraska child who was hospitalized for four weeks with complications from E.coli.
March 30, 2016
A second lawsuit has been filed against Pizza Ranch, this one on behalf of a Nebraska child hospitalized for four weeks with complications from E.coli. The suit was filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, according to a press release from PritzkerOlsen law firm in Minneapolis. National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen P.A. is also representing the family of a 7-year-old Kansas girl sickened by E. coli from a Pizza Ranch restaurant in Kansas, as reported by QSRweb.com earlier this month.
According to the lawsuit, the family ate at Pizza Ranch on Dec. 31, 2015, in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the third grader began experiencing symptoms three days later. The child was severely dehydrated and admitted to the hospital. A stool culture obtained by the hospital came back positive for E.coli O157:H7, the release stated.
Brittany Behm, a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Des Moines Register that 13 people were sickened from E. coli found in desserts served at Pizza Ranch restaurants. The Orange City, Iowa-based chain has 190 restaurants in 13 states, and the illnesses occurred in nine states, including Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Minnesota, which had five cases, was the lone state with more than one report, the report stated.
Two children, in Kansas and Nebraska, suffered kidney failure and had to be hospitalized. They have since recovered, the report stated. None of the patients died.
"[the patient] then went on to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe complication of E. coli infections that is the most common cause of acute renal failure in children, said Elliot Olsen, attorney for the family. "Due to a dangerously low kidney function, doctors were forced to place a port for dialysis and the child also developed pancreatitis. Over the next three weeks this child endured five blood transfusions, nine rounds of dialysis, and had a feeding tube placed in her intestines."
"Young children are especially vulnerable to the devastating effects of an E.coli infection, and because of this, food providers need to prioritize the safety of their product. It is our hope that through civil action we can make Pizza Ranch and other companies live up to their promises of safe products." said Olsen.
The father of the sickened girl issued a statement regarding this outbreak.
"Our intent in pursuing this case is holding the wrongdoers accountable. On New Year's Eve we went to lunch as a family and as a result our daughter suffered horrific pain, developed a nearly fatal disease, and faces potential lifelong complications. That should not happen to any family, period. If we had known about the situation we could have made different choices."
