--- title: "Eight Major E. coli Outbreaks and Lawsuits since 1993 and Marler Clark's Role" date: 2026-05-24T09:25:00-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/eight-major-e-coli-outbreaks-and-lawsuits-since-1993-and-marler-clarks-role" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Firm News](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/firm-news) / # Eight Major E. coli Outbreaks and Lawsuits since 1993 and Marler Clark's Role **1. Jack in the Box — Western United States (1992–1993)** **The Outbreak** The outbreak began in December 1992 and ran through February 1993, caused by E. coli O157:H7 in contaminated beef patties served at Jack in the Box restaurants across four western states. There were 732 confirmed cases, 178 severe cases, and 4 deaths — all children. Washington reported 602 patients with bloody diarrhea or HUS, with 477 culture-confirmed E. coli infections. 144 people were hospitalized and 30 developed HUS. The outbreak was traced to hamburger patties produced by Von Companies of California. **Marler Clark's Role** Lawyers now at Marler Clark handled most of the litigation stemming from the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, which resulted in individual and class-action settlements totaling more than $50 million — the largest payments ever involving foodborne illness at that time. Bill Marler represented Brianne Kiner, a nine-year-old Seattle girl who had been in a coma for 42 days, winning a landmark $15.6 million settlement. He also represented over 100 other victims. Marler Clark was formally founded in 1998 following this outbreak. Bill Marler and Andy Weisbecker, who had represented the E. coli victims, joined forces with Bruce Clark and Denis Stearns, who had represented Jack in the Box, to form the first law firm in the U.S. with its sole mission to represent victims of foodborne illness. This case is the origin story of modern food safety litigation in America. It is the subject of Jeff Benedict's book *Poisoned*and the Netflix documentary of the same name. **2. Odwalla Apple Juice — Western States (1996)** **The Outbreak** In October 1996, Odwalla and the FDA announced a recall of all juice products containing unpasteurized apple juice, after 13 reported cases of E. coli O157:H7 were linked to the company's product by the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. Ultimately more than 65 individuals were confirmed infected. More than a dozen developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, and one child — a 16-month-old — died. Marler Clark learned during the lawsuit that Odwalla had previously been rejected as a supplier for the U.S. Army, but despite that rejection, had not changed its manufacturing or testing procedures. **Marler Clark's Role** Marler Clark's E. coli attorneys represented several children who suffered HUS and permanent kidney damage. The majority of claims were resolved in early 2000 for a reported $12 million. In 1998, Odwalla was indicted and held criminally liable. The company pled guilty to 16 federal criminal charges and agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine. As a direct result of the litigation, Odwalla began pasteurizing its juices, and the federal government now requires warning labels on all unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juice containers. **3. Dole Baby Spinach — Nationwide (2006)** **The Outbreak** On September 14, 2006, the FDA announced a nationwide E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with baby spinach. All implicated spinach was traced back to Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, California. As of October 12, 2006, the CDC confirmed 205 E. coli illnesses across 26 states, including 31 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, 104 hospitalizations, and 4 deaths. During the litigation, Marler Clark uncovered that the likely cause of the outbreak were wild pigs that had entered the fields in the days before harvest. **Marler Clark's Role** Marler Clark represented 93 victims of the E. coli outbreak, filing lawsuits on behalf of individuals from Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Nebraska, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin. In the spring of 2007, Marler Clark resolved cases on behalf of three families whose elderly family members had died after eating Dole spinach. The remaining cases, including those of more than 30 people who developed HUS, were resolved in 2008 and 2009. Settlements exceeded $50 million and prompted changes to food safety laws for the first time in nearly 75 years. **4. Topps Meats Ground Beef — Nationwide (2007)** **The Outbreak** Topps Meats ultimately expanded its recall to include 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products produced between September 25, 2006, and September 25, 2007. The CDC investigated 25 illnesses in Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The recall was so massive that it drove Topps out of business entirely — one of the largest beef recalls in U.S. history. **Marler Clark's Role** Marler Clark filed two lawsuits against Topps in New York. The first was on behalf of a child hospitalized for four days after eating a Topps hamburger at a barbecue; the second on behalf of a mother and child, the child having developed HUS — in which punitive damages were sought. The firm also represented victims from Pennsylvania and other states and resolved all cases. **5. Cargill Ground Beef — Minnesota/Tennessee (2007)** **The Outbreak** Ground beef produced by Cargill and sold at Sam's Club prompted a recall of approximately 845,000 pounds of frozen patties. Stephanie Smith, a 22-year-old dance instructor from Cold Spring, Minnesota, suffered the worst injuries. She developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, which shut down her kidneys and led to such frequent seizures that she was put into a medically induced coma. She suffered several seizures, was in a medically induced coma for three months, spent more than two years in rehabilitation, and remains in a wheelchair. **Marler Clark's Role** Marler Clark represented 14 people sickened in the outbreak and resolved all claims, including on behalf of Stephanie Smith. Michael Moss of the New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for the article he wrote about Stephanie Smith and the origins of the burger. Her lawsuit was settled in May 2010 for an undisclosed sum. **6. Nestlé Toll House Cookie Dough — Nationwide (2009)** **The Outbreak** Nearly 75 people were sickened, with 32 hospitalized and 10 developing HUS across 30 states, linked to E. coli-contaminated raw cookie dough. Investigators later determined that contaminated flour — not raw eggs, as traditionally assumed — may have been the source. Marler Clark client Linda Rivera was just one of 69 reported cases in 29 states. She was admitted to the hospital vomiting every five minutes; doctors told her E. coli was destroying her colon and removed part of it along with her gallbladder. Her kidneys and liver shut down, and she was put into a medically induced coma. When she awoke, she went into cardiac arrest and required emergency kidney dialysis. **Marler Clark's Role** On June 22, 2009, Marler Clark filed the first E. coli lawsuit against Nestlé USA, on behalf of a young California woman. The next day, a second lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Colorado child who developed HUS. In the end, Marler Clark represented 24 individuals who became ill during the outbreak, resolving all cases including several HUS cases. **7. Romaine Lettuce (Yuma, Arizona) — Nationwide (2018)** **The Outbreak** As of May 16, 2018, 172 people were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 across 26 states. Seventy-five people were hospitalized, including 20 who developed HUS. One death was reported in California. The outbreak was traced to romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, growing region, eventually linked to irrigation water contaminated by a nearby cattle feedlot. **Marler Clark's Role** E. coli lawyers at Marler Clark represented over 100 victims of this outbreak, achieving settlements covering medical expenses, wage loss, and pain and suffering. The firm filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of victims who had consumed romaine at restaurants including Texas Roadhouse. **8. Wendy's Romaine Lettuce — Midwest/Mid-Atlantic (2022)** **The Outbreak** A total of 109 people infected with E. coli O157:H7 were reported from 6 states — Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Illnesses started between July 26 and August 17, 2022. Of 97 people with available information, 52 were hospitalized and 13 developed HUS. No deaths were reported. Petite romaine lettuce supplied to Wendy's was the suspected vehicle, though it could not be laboratory-confirmed. **Marler Clark's Role** Marler Clark represented 48 victims of the Wendy's E. coli outbreak. The firm actively pursued litigation against Wendy's on behalf of clients across the affected states. **Bill Marler & Marler Clark — An Overview** Bill Marler began litigating foodborne illness cases in 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the historic Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, in her landmark $15.6 million settlement. For more than 26 years, he has represented victims of nearly every large foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. Marler Clark is the nation's leading law firm representing victims of E. coli outbreaks and HUS. The E. coli lawyers of Marler Clark have represented thousands of victims and have recovered over $950 million for clients. Marler Clark is the only law firm in the nation with a practice focused exclusively on foodborne illness litigation. In the years since the Jack in the Box outbreak, Bill Marler has noted that E. coli cases linked to ground beef have nearly disappeared, attributing this to industry improvements spurred by litigation. Since the 2018 romaine outbreak, E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Hepatitis A outbreaks linked to fresh fruits and vegetables now take up the bulk of the firm's attention. Beyond litigation, Marler is a prolific food safety advocate, blogger, and public speaker. His work has directly shaped U.S. food safety policy, including contributing to the momentum behind the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 — the most sweeping reform of federal food safety law in decades. ### Other E. coli Lawsuits [Kebab Shop E. coli Outbreak Sickens Nine](https://marlerclark.com/kebab-shop-e-coli-outbreak-sickens-nine) [Raw Farms linked to another Raw Milk Cheese E.coli Outbreak - 9 People sickened - Company refuses to recall product](https://marlerclark.com/raw-farms-linked-to-another-raw-milk-cheese-e-coli-outbreak-7-people-sickened) [10 with E. coli linked to Cheese](https://marlerclark.com/3-with-e-coli-linked-to-cheese) [Sycamore Pool in Chico California Contaminated with E.coli - Two teens in ICU](https://marlerclark.com/sycamore-pool-in-chico-california-contaminated-with-e-coli-two-teens-in-icu) [Deadly Nationwide E.coli Outbreak Linked to Grimmway Farms Organic Baby and Whole Carrots sickens 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2004](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2004) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2005](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2005) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2006](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2006) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2007](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2007) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2008](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2008) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2009](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2009) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2010](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2010) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2011](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2011) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2012](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2012) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2013](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2013) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2014](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2014) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2015](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2015) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2016](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2016) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2017](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2017) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2018](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2018) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2019](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2019) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2020](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2020) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2021](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2021) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2022](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2022) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2023](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2023) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2024](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2024) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2025](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2025) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2026](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2026) ##### Get Help #### Affected by an outbreak or recall? The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [E. coli Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/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 to the family Enterobacteriaceae, so... ###### [E. coli O157:H7](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-o157h7) 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 E. coli (STEC) serotype in... ###### [Non-O157 STEC](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/non-o157-stec) Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli can also cause food poisoning. 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[ View Outbreak Database ](https://outbreakdatabase.com)