Marler Clark filed four lawsuits to date and was retained by over a dozen individuals. All cases have been resolved with settlements that included medical expenses, wage loss and in some cases more long term medical care.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) identified tomatoes as the source of the Salmonella Newport outbreak that sickened dozens of people who ate at Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota since late August 2015. Investigators collaborated with state and federal partners to trace the tomatoes back to the farm of origin.
The initial investigation found a total of 64 cases and 22 locations were linked to the outbreak. Nine people were hospitalized. Meal dates for the cases ranged from August 16 to August 28, 2015. People reported illnesses occurring between August 19 and September 3. The cases ranged in age from 10 to 69 years and were from 13 metro counties and several greater Minnesota counties.
“We expected to see additional cases because it can take up to 10 days for symptoms of Salmonella to appear, another few days to a week before people go to their doctors and the cases get reported to us,” said MDH Epidemiologist Dana Eikmeier. “However, there is no longer a risk of Salmonella from this particular product at Chipotle.” The company has switched suppliers for its tomatoes and implicated product was removed from stores.