Victim of Raw Milk Campylobacter Poisoning Still Hospitalized in PA
A 67-year-old Pittsburgh area man remains paralyzed and under intensive care at UPMC Presbyterian hospital after being sickened by raw milk produced by Pasture Maid Creamery of New Castle.
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The Campylobacter infection suffered by James Orchard developed into Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a disorder that attacks the central nervous system. National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is representing Mr. Orchard and his wife, Maureen, who also was sickened by the raw milk.
"Nobody can give you a timeline. With everyone, it's different. And he needs extensive physical therapy, and what that will entail, we have no idea," Maureen Orchard told WTAE-TV.
WTAE-TV Team 4 investigator Jim Parsons featured the case, which has gained national attention at a time when a vocal minority of raw milk ethusiasts is pushing for state restrictions to be lifted on the sale of unpasteurized dairy products.
In Pennsylvania, the sale of raw milk and other dairy products is permitted if produced by a licensed farm. In the Orchards' case, the contaminated milk was purchased at the McGinnis Sisters food store in Mars, Pa.
Paul Hoge, from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, said state law allows dairy farms to sell raw milk, but he doesn't recommend buying it. The state agriculture department has suspended Pasture Maid's milk production permit.
Health inspectors had detected Campylobacter at the dairy operation and in the milk bottles purchased by the Orchards. Stool samples confirmed it was Campylobacter that made Mr. Orchard sick.
As Team 4 reported, this was not the first time Pasture Maid drew the attention of Pennsylvania officials.
Unbeknownst to the Orchards, just a year earlier, in February 2009, the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Agriculture advised consumers who purchased raw milk from Dean Farms DBA Pasture Maid Creamery, LLC, to immediately discard raw milk purchased there due to potential bacterial infection.
Team 4 said it left several messages for farm owner Adam Dean, but those messages were not returned.
Pritzker Olsen is preparing a raw milk Campylobacter lawsuit in the case and is accepting additional clients from others sickened by the contamination. For a free case consultation, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.
Our firm is actively involved in various efforts to prevent foodborne illness, including advocacy for a public ban on raw milk sales. Over the years we have collected millions for victims of food poisoning.
