Lawsuit filed over E. coli outbreak near Cloquet
The first lawsuit has been filed as a result of an E. coli outbreak on the Fond du Lac Lake Superior Chippewa reservation near Cloquet earlier this summer.
Band member Bob Danielson has sued Jim-N-Jo's Northland Katering, which provided the food at three events in July at which people got sick, including an elder's picnic. Danielson, 62, said he was hospitalized for a day.
He filed suit Aug. 28 in state court in Carlton County and is seeking compensation for medical expenses and loss of wages.
"I thought somebody needs to call some attention to this," Danielson said. "Put the fear in somebody, or make sure that things are done right from here on out before somebody gets dead."
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The Minnesota Department of Health is investigating whether it came from ingredients in a potato salad that Danielson ate at an elder's picnic, where 20 to 60 people likely became ill.
The owner of the catering company declined to comment.
Danielson's attorney, Bill Marler, said E. coli 0157 is a deadly pathogen.
"It shouldn't be in our food," Marler said. "And it certainly shouldn't be in potato salad at an elder's picnic."
Also in July, 15 people in Minnesota were also sickened by a different strain of E. coli that was traced to several Applebee's restaurants. A lawsuit has also been filed in that case.