A second lawsuit was filed in connection with a fatal E. coli outbreak in Wagyu beef served at Flathead Valley restaurants in early July.
Collin Olson became ill with E. coli on July 1 after eating a Wagyu beef burger at Hops Downtown Grill in Kalispell, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Flathead County District Court.
He is suing Hops Downtown Grill, Lower Valley Processing and RANGE Land and Cattle Co. for their alleged role in the E. coli outbreak.
Flathead City-County Health Department officials said July 24 that one death and more than a dozen illnesses could be linked to an E. coli outbreak stemming from Wagyu beef served at local restaurants. A recall of Lower Valley Processing products issued by the Montana Department of Livestock in August said the source of the outbreak was still unidentified.
The lawsuit alleges that the Montana Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that products from Lower Valley Processing and RANGE Land and Cattle Co. were the cause of the outbreak.
Emails obtained through a public records request show that state health officials were in contact with RANGE Land and Cattle Co., a frequent supplier of Wagyu beef to the affected restaurants and which had the cattle processed at Lower Valley Processing.
Director of Communicable Diseases and Epidemiology Magdalena Kendall Scott said in a July 19 email to other local and state health officials that RANGE reported to the Department of Public Health and Human Services that Lot 1400 Wagyu beef was no longer being sold to restaurants.
Inquiries to RANGE regarding their connection to the outbreak remained unanswered at press time.
According to court documents, Olson began experiencing stomach cramps on July 7 after eating a Wagyu beef burger at Hops. His condition worsened and he suffered from nausea, fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches and diarrhea that turned bloody. He was examined by doctors and underwent an ultrasound and CT scan.
A stool culture returned positive E. coli results, and Olson was later notified by the City and County of Missoula Health Department that he was part of the Flathead County outbreak.
According to court documents, Olson was unable to return to work for two weeks because of his illness.
Olson is the second person to file suit related to the outbreak. Both are represented by the Bliven law firm of Kalispell and Marler Clark Inc. of Bainbridge Island, Washington.
Alexis Paul, a Missoula County resident who visited the area in early July, also filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court on July 30. She had eaten a Wagyu burger from the Gunsight Saloon in Columbia Falls on July 1 that contained E. coli, which made her sick, the lawsuit says.
Both lawsuits argued that the defendants owed “a duty of care to the plaintiff to develop, manufacture and/or sell food that is not adulterated” and fit for human consumption. The attorneys also argued that they had a duty to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations designed to ensure food safety, including the requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Montana state law.
On July 26, Flathead County Health Department officials said the Gunsight Saloon in Columbia Falls, Hops Downtown Grill in Kalispell, Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake and Harbor Grille in Lakeside were linked to the outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal and state health organizations recommend cooking ground meat to an internal temperature of 160 degrees to avoid infection with E. coli.
According to state health officials, all potentially contaminated Lower Valley Processing products were subsequently removed from the market.
Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by email at [email protected].
