Food Poisoning Law Blog : Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : PritzkerLaw : Food Safety, Outbreaks & Recalls

Guillian-Barre' Syndrome, or GBS, is a dreaded medical condition that often causes muscle weakness or paralysis. It is known to follow infection and is seen during outbreaks of Campylobacter, a foodborne illness that causes diarrhea and other gastrointestinal distress.

In Yuma County Arizona and across the border in Sonora, Mexico, public health officials this week are traveling across their respective borders to conduct a joint investigation of an unusual GBS cluster that may or may not have its origins in an outbreak of Campylobacter.  With a combined 24 cases of GBS, officials are scrambling to find the cause, according to a news release from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

“We recognize that this apparent cluster of Guillain-Barré Syndrome cases is of great concern to the community,” said Shoana Anderson, Office Chief of Infectious Disease at ADHS. “One potential cause we’ve identified is Campylobacter bacteria, a commonly-identified organism that can precede Guillain-Barré. While there have been more cases of Campylobacter this year, we have not yet positively confirmed that it is responsible for these Guillain-Barré infections.”

The first signs of GBS are muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. It usually appears after someone has been sick with an infection, often with diarrhea. The key is to find the root cause of the infection.

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is monitoring this outbreak investigation and will answer legal questions from any family or individual who has been victimized by GBS. Send contact information or call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) to receive a no-fee consultation.

GBS Campylobacter Lawsuit

Our firm currently represents a Pennsylvania man who was horribly paralyzed by GBS following a Campylobacter infection he contracted in an outbreak linked to contaminated raw milk. We also have represented other GBS patients and have collected tens of millions of dollars over the years for victims of all kinds of food poisoning. 

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Campylobacter in chickens and turkeys is the riskiest food contamination based on the public health impact found in a study by the University of Florida's Emerging Pathogens Institute. The study said Campylobacter bacteria sicken 600,000 Americans every year because of inadequate oversight.

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)  is a  feared complication of Campylobacter. There are several forms of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), making the range of symptoms wide as well, but some of the more commonly encountered effects are limb and respiratory weakness, and loss of reflexes. Miller Fisher syndrome is a subtype of GBS.

In essence, study authors make a case for regulators to focus food safety oversight on the 10 riskiest pairs of bacteria and food.  It found that the 10 combinations cost the economy $8 billion a year and 37,000 Quality-Adjusted Life Years, a measure of disease burden that factors in pain, suffering and a disease's impact on normal activities.

"The number of hazards and scale of the food system make for a critical challenge for consumers and government alike," lead author Michael Batz said in a statement. "Government agencies must work together to effectively target their efforts. If we don't identify which pairs of foods and microbes present the greatest burden, we'll waste time and resources and put even more people at risk."

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Salmonella can lead to reactive arthritis, or Reiter's syndrome. Listeria can cause meningitis and stillbirths; and Campylobacter may be the most common precipitating factor for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).

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The last outbreak of Campylobacter infection occurred one year ago in a cluster of illnesses in Michigan that also prompted health warnings in Illinois and Indiana. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working with state partners, associated the outbreak with raw milk produced on a farm in Middlebury, Indiana.

A separate raw milk Campylobacter outbreak happened in Pennsylvania at about the same time, resulting in a tragic case of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in a 67-year-old man from Mars, Pennsylvania.

Though not as common as outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella, foodborne disease caused by Campylobacter bacteria can be just as menacing.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), campylobacteriosis causes an incidence of about 13 cases per 100,000 population diagnosed in the United States annually. About 124 people per year in the U.S. die from it. Raw cow's milk is a common vehicle for transmission of campylobacteriosis, but the bacteria also is found in almost all raw poultry because it lives in the intestinal track of healthy birds.

Complications of infection can include meningitis, urinary tract infections, reactive arthritis and Guillain-Barre syndrome. GBS is an unusual type of paralysis. It can last for weeks to months. Most people eventually recover completely or nearly completely, but some people have permanent nerve damage and about 5 percent of  people who develop GBS die. Paralysis of the muscles that control breathing also is a mark of Guillain-Barré. Lawyer Fred Pritzker of national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen has handled multiple cases of GBS litigation resulting from Campylobacter infection.

Unlike other dreaded medical conditions, campylobacteriosis and GBS are preventable and the lawyers at PritzkerOlsen are actively involved in efforts to stop outbreaks and prevent the spread of all harmful pathogens in the U.S. food supply. As a representative for victims of food poisoning, we hold food purveyors responsible for the costly harms caused by contaminated milk, meat, processed food and produce of all kinds. For a free case consultation with a Campylobacter lawyer, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact form and a lawyer will call you. 

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The food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen represent many clients in Campylobacter food poisoning lawsuits. Campylobacter is a dangerous pathogen that can lead to Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Food safety attorney Brendan Flaherty discusses the firm's experience with these cases.

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Pritzker Olsen law firm has filed a lawsuit through its local counsel in Pittsburgh on behalf of James and Maureen Orchard, a couple sickened last month by Campylobacter  from raw milk produced by Pasture Maid Creamery LLC of New Castle, Pennsylvania.

The Pasture Maid Creamery lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheney County. It alleges that 67-year-old James Orchard became paralyzed from a Campylobacter infection he suffered from unpasteurized Pasture Maid milk that health investigators later found to be contaminated.

According to the complaint, Mr. Orchard and his wife purchased the milk March 16 from McGinnis Sisters Special Foods store in Mars, Pennsylvania, where they live. The retailer is named in the suit along with the creamery and its owner, Adam Dean.

While Mrs. Orchard became seriously sick and sore, her husband began to experience a loss of sensation and movement. He developed Guillain-Barre syndrome and became totally paralyzed except for minimal movement of his head and the ability to blink his eyes. He was placed on ventilation equipment and is still unable to breathe on his own in a Pittsburgh area hospital. Mr. Orchard requires around the clock intensive care.

Fred Pritzker, the Orchards’ attorney said, says the case tragically illustrates how unsafe raw milk is.

“Raw milk is a dangerous product that should not be sold to the public. Virtually every health department, federal, state and local, recommends against its use,'' Pritzker said. "It is particularly dangerous for young children, people with compromised immune systems and the elderly.''

According to the complaint, the Pennsylvania Department of Health found Campylobacter bacteria in raw milk samples from Pasture Maid.  On March 25, 2010, the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Agriculture advised consumers to discard Pasture Maid brand raw milk and recommended that Pasture Maid Creamery stop selling the product.

On April 5, 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture suspended Pasture Maid’s permit to sell raw milk for human consumption. Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized -- a flash heating process that destroys pathogens like Campylobacter and E. coli O157:H7 with high temperature.

Pritzker Olsen law firm, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, represents individuals and families nationwide in cases involving foodborne illness. The firm is involved in virtually every major foodborne illness outbreak and has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in foodborne illness cases. Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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 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.

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.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PITTSBURG -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- April 15, 2010 -- Pritzker Olsen, P.A., the national food safety law firm, has been retained by the family of a Pittsburgh-area man on life support after consuming raw milk adulterated with Campylobacter bacteria. 

James Orchard, a 67 year-old from Mars, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. One of the most common antecedent events to those who suffer from GBS is prior infection with Campylobacter. Except for minimal head and eye movement, Orchard is totally paralyzed. 

Several days prior to the onset of his illness, Orchard and other members of his family, consumed raw milk purchased at the McGinnis Sisters Special Foods Store in Mars, PA on March 16, 2010. The raw milk was produced by Dean Farms doing business as Pasture Maid, LLC, a creamery located in New Castle, PA.

According to a recent press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, “the permit for Pasture Maid Creamery in New Castle, Lawrence County, to sell raw milk for human consumption was suspended April 5 after testing found Campylobacter in its raw milk samples.”

Stool samples obtained from Mr. Orchard also tested positive for Campylobacter. Milk from the bottles produced by Dean Farms doing business as Pasture Maid, LLC and purchased at the McGinnis Sisters store tested positive for the pathogen as well.

“The fact that the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture obtained positive samples from Pasture Maid at about the same time Mr. Orchard became ill coupled with his positive stool and milk samples makes the chain of causation very strong,” according to Attorney Fred Pritzker, president of the law firm.

This was not the first time Pasture Maid drew the attention of Pennsylvania officials. 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.

Although some organizations and individuals fervently believe in the benefits of raw milk consumption, scientists and food safety advocates are virtually united in condemning its sale to the public. “Promoting the consumption of raw milk is the equivalent of promoting consumption of raw hamburger,” commented Pritzker. “It’s irresponsible and dangerous, no matter what advocates claim.”

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized. Pasteurization, a “kill step,” destroys pathogens like Campylobacter. Raw milk is an important vehicle in the transmission of Campylobacter and other foodborne pathogens including:

Enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus
Campylobacter jejuni
Salmonella species
E. coli (EHEC) (ETEC)
Listeria monocytogenes
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacterium bovis
Brucella species (abortus –cattle) (melitensis- goats)
Coxiella burnetii
Yersinia enterocolitica

Even after an initial outbreak of Campylobacter and the temporary suspension of milk sales in early 2009, both Dean Farms, DBA Pasture Maid Creamery, LLC and McGinnis Sisters Special Foods Store continued to sell and promote raw milk as a healthy food option.

“A summons and complaint brought on behalf of the Orchard family will be served and filed on Dean Farms DBA Pasture Maid Creamery, LLC and McGinnis Food Center, Inc. DBA McGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores in the next few days,” Pritzker said. “Companies that sell unsafe products have to be held accountable for the harms and losses they cause.”

Pritzker Olsen law firm, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, represents individuals and families in cases involving foodborne illness. The firm is involved in virtually every major foodborne illness outbreak and has successfully obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in foodborne illness cases. Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE).

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