Nebraska woman sues McDonald’s over E. coli infection

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Nebraska woman is suing McDonald’s after getting sick with E. coli.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Cook County, Illinois, where the fast-food giant is based.

Clarissa DeBock ate at a McDonald’s in North Platte on Sept. 18, her attorney told Channel 8.

She got sick five days later and eventually had to go to an emergency room, according to the lawsuit.

DeBock tested positive for E. coli and is still recovering, the suit says.

The lawsuit quotes an ER doctor as saying, “My nursing staff indicated to me that E. coli was also noted on 2 patients yesterday. I find this very interesting.”

SEE ALSO: Colorado and Nebraska are epicenter of McDonald’s E. coli outbreak

As of Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak had sickened 49 people nationwide, including nine in Nebraska.

But the CDC said the actual number of ill people is likely much higher.

On Thursday, McDonald’s said the onions that caused the outbreak came from Taylor Farms in California.

Ron Simon, a Houston-based attorney specializing in food safety cases, is representing Debock.

“We want to figure out exactly how this happened through depositions and questions, make sure we stop it and then make sure it never happens again,” Simon said.

The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s was negligent in allowing contaminated Quarter Pounders to be sold.

“All dangers associated with the products were reasonably foreseeable and/or scientifically discoverable by Defendant at the time Defendant placed the products into the stream of commerce,” the suit says.

Simon said when you go to a restaurant, you expect that it’s done everything to make sure the food is washed, sanitized and tested.

“In this case, somehow, the contaminated ingredients got through that ingredients testing process and made it all the way to McDonald’s plates,” he said. “And that was a huge breach of trust, which is going to take a long time to get back.”

The lawsuit is asking for a $50,000 judgment for DeBock.

Simon has also filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s on behalf of a Colorado resident.

He predicted that McDonald’s and Taylor Farms will pay out tens of millions of dollars for the outbreak.