In August 2011, the Cumberland County Health Department announced that thousands of diners had potentially been exposed to Hepatitis A after an employee of a Fayetteville, N.C. Olive Garden had tested positive for the virus. The employee was infected with hepatitis A while working shifts at the restaurant on July 25, 26, 28, 29, and 31, as well as August 1, 2 and 8. Many people who had dined at the Olive Garden on those dates had to obtain an Hepatitis A vaccinations or Immune globulin (Ig) injections to prevent infection with the potentially deadly hepatitis A virus.
On August 18, Marler Clark filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of as many as 3,000 people who received the shot. The class action lawsuit was settled and those who filed claims have been compensated.