Photo Credit: ShutterstockTwo lawsuits have emerged against McDonald’s following an E. coli outbreak associated with their Quarter Pounders, including one from a Nebraska woman who required emergency medical treatment.
Clarissa DeBock, a 33-year-old receptionist from North Platte, Nebraska, filed her lawsuit on October 24, claiming she consumed a Quarter Pounder from a local McDonald’s on September 18. A week later, she went to the emergency room, where she tested positive for E. coli O157
“The cramps were probably the worst part,” DeBock shared in an interview. “I still have lingering effects. The cramps were so severe that I knew something was wrong.” On October 22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that E. coli O157 was linked to the outbreak, which has led to 22 hospitalizations and one death across 13 states. DeBock noted that she didn’t notice anything unusual about the Quarter Pounder and expressed relief that she hadn’t shared any with her two-year-old son.
Her lawsuit follows one filed on October 23 by Eric Stelly, a Colorado man who reported eating a Quarter Pounder from a McDonald’s in Greeley on October 4 and visiting the emergency room four days later. Stelly also tested positive for the E. coli O157
strain and is in the process of recovering from food poisoning. He is seeking compensation similar to that of DeBock.
Both DeBock and Stelly are represented by attorney Ron Simon of Ron Simon & Associates, who indicated he is working with a total of 15 plaintiffs, although he has not yet filed lawsuits for the remaining individuals. Simon revealed that one client was hospitalized for over a week, developing a severe infection that posed life-threatening risks.
In response to the outbreak, McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger stated on TODAY on October 23 that the company remains confident in the safety of its offerings, while confirming that the Quarter Pounder has been temporarily removed from the menu in the affected states. “We want to assure our consumers that they can confidently visit McDonald’s,” he emphasized.
An investigation by McDonald’s linked the illnesses to slivered onions on the Quarter Pounders from a specific supplier. McDonald’s North America Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña announced that all local restaurants have been instructed to eliminate this product from their inventory and that distribution of slivered onions in the impacted areas has been halted.
On October 23, U.S. Foods revealed that Taylor Farms, based in Colorado, had issued a recall for yellow jumbo peeled, diced, and whole peeled onions due to potential E. coli contamination. In light of the outbreak, several fast-food chains, including Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut, have also removed onions from their menus, as they source some of their onions from Taylor Farms.
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