Outbreak linked to spinach sickened more than 200 people
A trio of local companies recently settled a
multi-million-dollar lawsuit with a Utah woman who nearly died
after eating spinach tainted with E. coli.
The agreement, details of which were not made public, came while
jurors were deliberating after a five-day trial in a case brought
by Chelsey Macey against Dole Food Co., San Juan Bautista-based
Natural Selection Foods and Mission Organics of Salinas.
Outbreak linked to spinach sickened more than 200 people
A trio of local companies recently settled a multi-million-dollar lawsuit with a Utah woman who nearly died after eating spinach tainted with E. coli.
The agreement, details of which were not made public, came while jurors were deliberating after a five-day trial in a case brought by Chelsey Macey against Dole Food Co., San Juan Bautista-based Natural Selection Foods and Mission Organics of Salinas.
KSL-TV in Salt Lake City reported that Macey, a 26-year-old married mother of three, because deathly ill after eating Dole pre-washed baby spinach in 2006 and then developed a sever case of irritable bowl syndrome. Her attorneys claim that the condition rendered her permanently disabled.
Macey’s lawyers asked the jury to award at least $10 million, including $5 million for past medical and future medical expenses and pain and future lost wages, and $5 million for pain and suffering. The lawsuit was filed in 2008.
Dole and the other companies accepted liability for the contaminated spinach before the trial and agreed to compensate Macey for damages, KSL reported. The question in the trial was how much compensation she would receive.
Samantha Cabaluna, Natural Selection’s director of communications and marketing, said the company is pleased that a settlement was reached.
“From the beginning, we have worked to ensure that we are doing the right thing for anyone who suffered as a result of the incident,” she said. “As with all claims, we were eager to see to it that this claimed was resolved fairly and now that has been accomplished. However, the parties have agreed that details of the settlement are confidential and will not be made public. We wish Ms. Macey well in the coming years.”
Seattle-based food safety attorney Bill Marler told The Packer website that more than 205 people were sickened and up to five people died after the E. coli outbreak that was spread through prepackaged spinach processed at Natural Selection Foods.
Cabuluna said the company’s “industry-leading food safety practices have shifted thinking around food safety and produce.
“And because we don’t believe that food safety should be a competitive advantage,” she added, “we’ve shared what we’ve learned throughout our industry.”
A report released by state and federal health officials in March 2007 said traces of the deadly E. coli strain were found on Paicines Ranch near land leased to Mission Organics.
