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

Two school-age children who drank raw milk from the Hartmann dairy farm have developed infections of E. coli O157:H7 in an outbreak that has grown to eight illnesses since May 26.

The Minnesota Department of Health's latest update on the Hartmann milk E. coli outbreak also said the third new case is an infant who lives in the same household as one of the first five cases.

The state said 28 environmental and animal samples obtained by health officials from the Hartmann farm in Gibbon have now tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Twenty-six samples had the same DNA fingerprint as the outbreak strain. These positive samples include environmental samples from the dairy barn where the cows are milked, the health agency said.

The strain of E. coli O157:H7 that defines the Hartmann outbreak has not previously been found in Minnesota.

This outbreak includes a toddler who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening condition that occurs in 5 to 15 percent of people infected by E. coli O157:H7. A person of any age can develop HUS, but children are the most susceptible. Possible injuries extend far beyond kidney failure to a person's neurological and cardiovascular systems.

Pritzker Olsen, which is based in Minnesota, currently represents a Pennsylvania man who was paralyzed from food poisoning he suffered recently from drinking contaminated raw milk. Our firm is a leading practitioner of food borne illness litigation and we have handled many HUS cases for families seeking fair compensation for medical bills, lost wages and other harms.

To talk to an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen about food poisoning legal options, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the far right side of this Web page. 

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In petting zoo E. coli outbreaks, the primary mode of transmission is from feces of an animal to the mouth of the person by unconscious hand-to-mouth contact. That's because animal fur, skin, saliva and living areas can become contaminated with fecal germs.

Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, a national food safety law firm with expertise in all cases involving E. coli O157:H7, is investigating a possible outbreak at Sponsel's Minnesota Harvest Petting Zoo near Jordan, Minnesota.

Our firm represents a 3-year-old boy who apparently became infected with E. coli O157:H7 from a llama at the zoo and we believe there could be at least one more person who also is a victim.

The child spent 11 days this month in a Twin Cities hospital fighting hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157 infection.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) found a strain of E. coli O157:H7 in the feces of a llama at the petting  zoo that genetically matched the strain of  E. coli O157:H7 that sickened the toddler.

The petting zoo has been voluntarily and temporarily shut down.  The apple orchard at Sponsel’s Minnesota Harvest is not associated with this potential E. coli outbreak. The attraction is located about 12 miles south of Shakopee.

E. coli O157:H7 is one of the most common and most dangerous kinds of intestinal disease agents associated with animal contact. Pritzker Olsen also represents victims of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at this year’s National Western Stock Show in Denver.

“Despite state guidelines recommending sanitation measures to ensure the safety of visitors to petting zoos, it  appears the operator of this facility did not follow all of these guidelines,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker. 

For a free consultation with an attorney regarding your E. coli poisoning case, please call 612-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form., 

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