McDonald’s Hit With First Customer E. Coli Infection Lawsuit (1)

McDonald’s Corp. was accused of product liability, negligence, and breach of implied warranties in a lawsuit filed in Illinois Circuit Court Wednesday after a Colorado resident tested positive for E. coli.

It was the first lawsuit filed against the fast food giant since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a food safety alert about an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s quarter pounders, Ron Simon, the lawyer for plaintiff Eric Stelly, said in an email.

On Oct. 4 Stelly purchased food from his local McDonald’s in Greeley, Colo., according to the complaint. Two days later, he began experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, stomach cramps, nausea, and dehydration, as well as bloody stools. On Oct. 8 he tested positive for E. coli, according to Simon.

The three-count complaint said McDonald’s food products “were defective because they contained E. coli,” and that “Defendant’s conduct was a direct, proximate, and producing cause of Plaintiff’s injuries.” The company had a duty to warn Stelly of potentially hazardous or life-threatening conditions regarding its food, the complaint said.

The case was filed in Illinois Circuit Court because Cook County, Ill., is where McDonald’s has its headquarters, Simon said.

The complaint was filed one day after the CDC issued a food safety alert warning of an outbreak of E. coli infections. “Most people in this outbreak are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick. It is not yet known which specific food ingredient is contaminated,” the alert said.

Ron Simon & Associates and Meyers & Flowers LLC represent Stelly.

McDonald’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Stelly v. McDonald’s Corp., Ill. Cir. Ct., No. 2024-L-011889, 10/23/24.