With the recent salmonella egg recall that has harmed at least 50,000 nationwide, the salmonella lawyers at Simon & Luke have been fielding a huge volume of calls from sickened individuals who want to know whether they have a viable case.  There are several factors that determine whether a case can be made or not – below is an explanation:

The Client Interview

When interviewing a potential case in this outbreak, the first two questions we ask are:

Did you test positive for salmonella after consuming eggs or egg products in the last 4 months?

Were you contacted by the health department?

If the answer is “yes” to both, then it is highly likely that the potential client has a valid salmonella case related to this outbreak. 

Here’s why:

Positive test results are reported to the health department and CDC

By law, a doctor is required to report to the local health department a positive test result for salmonella.   The local health department monitors these reports.  Most of the time, the health department will then perform a kind of “DNA fingerprinting” on the laboratory sample to determine the exact genetic makeup of the bacteria.

Salmonella bacteria have unique fingerprints just like people do.  Each type of bacteria has unique DNA which makes up a pattern of bands called a fingerprint.

The fingerprints that scientists use to identify bacteria are called PFGE (Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis) patterns.  The health department then sends the PFGE results to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.  The CDC monitors all reportable food borne illnesses in the United States.  The CDC will immediately declare an outbreak and alert state and local officials if two or more persons produce the same PFGE results – which indicates that those persons became ill from a common food source.  

As of right now, over 1300 people have matching isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis.  Multiply that number by the commonly accepted figure of 38.5 (the number of true illnesses to each confirmed illness) and you get 50,000 sick people in this outbreak. 

The health departments interview persons with identical PFGE results to find the source

After this salmonella outbreak was identified, public health officials began intensive investigations.  This included visiting the suspected manufacturing plant, taking numerous samples from different areas of the plant, and searching through corporate documents and testing results.  The investigators will also attempt to interview all of the persons with the identical PFGE patterns, to determine whether they consumed eggs prior to their illness.  Once eggs were identified as the source, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms were notified, egg production was halted, and the tainted eggs were recalled.

The CDC and health departments identify confirmed cases

The CDC or state health department, will then provide a definition of a “confirmed case.”  In this outbreak, a confirmed case is someone who tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis (JEGX01.0004)after consuming eggs or egg products within 72 hours of illness onset. 

What should I do if I think I have salmonella?

You should immediately go to your doctor, seek medical attention, and request that a stool sample be taken before any antibiotics are administered.   This will help the doctors determine whether salmonella, versus some other bacteria, is making you feel ill and will also provide evidence that is crucial to your case.

So how do I know if I have a case?

If your stool, urine, or blood culture tests positive for salmonella after consuming egg products AND you are/were contacted and interviewed by a local or state health department, then you are probably a confirmed case related to this salmonella egg outbreak.

If you are a confirmed case, you need to hire a qualified food poisoning law firm (Simon & Luke) immediately to understand your legal rights.  It is critically important that key pieces of evidence – such as the remaining eggs (if any) be preserved for future testing by our experts.  It is also important that steps are taken to inspect the eggs were manufactured and other facilities along the food distribution chain so that the contamination can be stopped and the problem resolved so that it does not happen again.

If I have a case, is it worth my time to pursue it?

If you have a case, then you are entitled to compensation for all of your medical bills, pharmacy bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and any future damages potentially caused by your illness.   The value of each case varies depending on several factors (the type, length, and severity of the illness, for example), but all confirmed cases have significant value that, for many people, can be life-changing.  

As we tell all of our clients – our results speak for themselves.

How are my attorneys compensated?

The lawyers at Simon & Luke work on a contingency basis.  That means that we are only compensated for our time and effort on your behalf only if we achieve a settlement that you approve.  If a settlement is reached, we are entitled to a percentage of the settlement.  If the very unlikely event that there is no settlement, then you owe the firm nothing and the firm absorbs all time and expenses spent in pursuing your claims.  In other words, there is never any risk that the client will ever have to come “out of pocket” for our services.

The lawyers at Simon & Luke are always willing to speak with potential clients about their case, and the initial consultation – whether you retain our firm or not – is always free of charge.

Simon & Luke

The salmonella lawyers at Simon & Luke have handled over 2000 salmonella cases in the past 3 years alone.  We have recovered over $400,000,000 for our clients.  We have filed hundreds of salmonella lawsuits and personally inspected numerous food manufacturing plants contaminated by salmonella.  Our lawyers have been interviewed by NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, the Associated Press, and numerous other media outlets.  We are often called upon to provide commentary on an outbreak (as we have already done in this outbreak), and we regularly speak at food poisoning conferences in an effort to help others learn about how outbreaks can be prevented.

We are here to answer all of your salmonella questions, and we provide legal consultations free of charge.  If you or a loved one has suffered from salmonella poisoning, please call us toll free at 1-888-335-4901.  We want to help.