SAN CARLOS, CALIFORNIA- An 18-year-old woman who was hospitalized for a week, possible because of Nestle cookie dough that contained a deadly virus, filed a lawsuit today. Jillian Collins of San Carlos suffered painful abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and nausea after eating Nestle chocolate chip cookie dough last month.
Collins said that the purchased the cookie dough shortly before Memorial Day weekend from a Safeway store. She wanted to make a batch of cookies for her younger brother and his friends but also “had a craving for cookie dough”. She said she thereafter ate between one quarter and one half of the raw cookie dough, while her father and brother had small bites. On Memorial Day, Collins began to suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms. The next day, Collins was in so much pain she had to go to urgent care in Palo Alto. She was later taken by ambulance to Stanford Medical Center where doctors confirmed that she had E. coli.
Collins is one of 70 people in 30 states who have gotten sick after eating Nestle refrigerated cookie dough suspected of containing the E. coli bacteria. Thankfully, no one has died of the illness. Nestle spokeswoman, Laurie MacDonald said that they had not yet reviewed the suit so they did not have a comment about it. However, she added that she is grateful that everyone infected with E. coli is getting better.
Nestle began recalling its refrigerated dough products, about 300,000 cases, on Friday, within one day of being notified by the Food and Drug Administration that there was a problem suspected with the dough. MacDonald said that Nestle is working with the FDA to determine whether the dough was the source of the illness and is cooperating fully with all involved parties, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If products or food are sold to customers in a dangerous or unhealthy condition, consumers may be able to recover damages from the manufacturer. The attorneys at Berman & Riedel, LLP have experience in all different kinds of plaintiff’s litigation and are here to help you evaluate your potential case. Contact the firm for a case evaluation consultation. There is no charge for this initial meeting.
