News
Marler Clark has published 5,561 articles about foodborne illness outbreaks and lawsuits.
Current Outbreaks
September 21, 2023
Huntley High School students hit with E. coli
McHenry County Health Department has now reported at least nine cases of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) have been reported at suburban Huntley High School, officials say....
September 15, 2023
Salmonella Outbreak at Carniceria Guanajuato - Five Lawsuits Filed
September 14, 2023
Shigella Outbreak hits Westin Bonventure Hotel - Lawsuit Filed
All Articles
May 20, 2023 • Case News
Lessons To Learn From the Salmonella Outbreak of 2008
On February 21, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that former PCA officials had been indicted after a years-long criminal investigation into their involvement in releasing Salmonella-contaminated peanuts and peanut-products into the chain of commerce. …

May 20, 2023 • Case News
What To Expect During E. coli O157:H7 Litigation
E. coli litigation is all about causation (did a particular food product cause the illness) and damages (what are your past, present and future costs). …
May 20, 2023 • Case News
A Quick Look at the 2018 Hepatitis A Outbreak
Litigation proceeded in a Virginia state court against Tropical Smoothie and the strawberry supply chain. There were 134 people with hepatitis A reported from nine states: Arkansas (1), California (1), Maryland (12), New York (3), North Carolina (1), Oregon (1), Virginia (107), West Virginia (7), and Wisconsin (1). 52 ill people were hospitalized. No deaths occurred. …
May 19, 2023 • Firm News
Marler Clark donates an additional $50,000 to the Dave Theno Fellowship
Marler Clark, the nation's food safety law firm, has donated $50,000 to the Dave Theno Food Safety Fellowship, a partnership between Stop Foodborne Illness and Michigan State University Online Food Safety Program. The fellowship was created in 2017, to support young food scientists, enabling them to work closely with Stop …

May 05, 2023 • Events & Speaking Engagements
Center for Produce Safety Conference (2023)
Bill Marler was invited to attend the Center for Produce Safety Conference and participate on a symposium panel that discussed the science of food safety. A diverse audience attended the symposium, which included individuals in government, industry and academia. …

April 09, 2023 • Firm News

March 31, 2023 • Case News
How Does Fresh Produce Spread Cyclospora?
Cyclospora is spread when people ingest water or food contaminated with infected stool. For example, exposure to contaminated water among farm workers may have been the original source of the parasite in raspberry-associated outbreaks in North America. …
March 31, 2023 • Case News
How Campylobacter in Poultry Spreads So Quickly
Most Campylobacter infections in humans are caused by the consumption of contaminated food or water. The infective dose—that is, the number of bacteria that must be ingested to cause illness—is relatively small. Ingestion of as few as 500 organisms, an amount that can be found in one drop of chicken …
March 31, 2023 • Case News
3 Quick Facts About Norovirus That You Might Not Know
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that noroviruses cause nearly 21 million cases of acute gastroenteritis annually, making noroviruses the leading cause of gastroenteritis in adults in the United States. Of the viruses, only the common cold is reported more often than a norovirus infection—also referred to …
March 31, 2023 • Case News
The Link Between Botulism and Botox: What To Know
Botox is a drug made from a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It's the same toxin that causes a life-threatening type of food poisoning called botulism. …
March 26, 2023 •
Salmonella Outbreak linked to Oysters
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) and the state health departments of Georgia and Alabama have detected a Salmonella outbreak associated with the consumption of raw oysters harvested from shellfish harvesting area FL-3012 in Cedar Key, Florida. To date, there have been 8 cases linked to this outbreak within Florida …
March 26, 2023 • Outbreaks
March 26, 2023 •
E. coli recall linked Elkhart Valley Packing
Elkhorn Valley Packing, a Harper, Kan. establishment, is recalling approximately 3,436 pounds of boneless beef chuck product that may be contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O103, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The boneless beef chuck items were packed on Feb …
March 26, 2023 • Outbreaks
March 14, 2023 • Case News
March 14, 2023 • Case News
March 14, 2023 • Case News
Salmonella 101: Understanding the Bacteria and Its Effects
Salmonella is a bacterium that causes one of the most common enteric (intestinal) infections in the United States – salmonellosis. In any case, today the number of known strains of the bacteria totals over two thousand. …

March 14, 2023 • Case News
February 26, 2023 • Firm News
Seattle Times: 30 years after the deadly E. coli outbreak, a Seattle attorney still fights for food safety
Bill Marler never expected to build a career out of bad food. But 30 years later, he’s still at it. From salmonella-tainted cantaloupe to listeria-laced lunchmeat, Marler Clark — which bills itself as The Food Safety Law Firm — has represented victims of every major foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. …

February 26, 2023 • Firm News
Seattle Times: Seattle food-safety attorney Bill Marler does not eat these foods – do you?
Seattle Times: Seattle food-safety attorney Bill Marler does not eat these foods – do you? …

January 31, 2023 • Events & Speaking Engagements
Food Law Student Leadership Summit, Arkansas School of Law (2020)
Rep. Chellie Pingree and Bill Marler served as keynote and featured speakers at the The University of Arkansas Food Law Student Leadership Summit. This event included 63 students from 42 law schools and 27 academic, professional and governmental experts Feb. 28-March 1 for the fifth annual Food Law Student …

January 31, 2023 • Publications
For Personal-Injury Lawyer, Michael Pollan’s Book Is Worth Fighting For
Among the things that Bill Marler feels passionately about are Washington State University (his alma mater), food safety and negotiation. So after he heard about a dustup on campus over the cancellation of a program requiring all freshmen to read the same book, Michael Pollan’s double-fisted examination of agribusiness, “The …

January 23, 2023 • Firm News
Association of Food and Drug Officials - 16 People Who Have Shaped the Last 30 Years of Food Safety
In the 30 years since the Jack in the Box outbreak, food safety has come a long way. Here are some of the people who have shaped it. …

January 06, 2023 • Publications
Calling for Real Food Safety Reform: Bill Marler for FSIS
Marler first leapt to national prominence as the lead attorney in the famous 1993 Jack in the Box E.coli outbreak. Since that time, Marler has led the charge in protecting the rights of consumers against unsafe practices of major corporations. While dedicated to a high standard of food safety protocols …
January 06, 2023 • Publications
Bill Marler: Taking on E. coli, Big Ag, Raw Milk Conspiracy Theorists and the USDA
In yesterday’s post, I wrote about Bill Marler, the influential, outspoken, high-profile attorney who is representing Stephanie Smith in her $100 million lawsuit against Cargill. Smith, an ex-dance instructor from Cold Spring, Minnesota, almost died after eating a Cargill-produced hamburger, which was laced with E.coli O157:H7. …

Food Safety Resources
E. coli Food Poisoning
What is E. coli and how does it cause food poisoning? Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a highly studied, common species of bacteria that belongs …
E. coli O157:H7
E. coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning. E. coli O157:H7 is the most commonly identified and the most notorious Shiga toxin-producing …
Non-O157 STEC
Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli can also cause food poisoning. E. coli O157:H7 may be the most notorious serotype of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) …