McDonald’s Customer Files Class Action Over Supersized E. Coli Outbreak

Would you like fries with that? How about a side of E. coli?

A Nevada restaurant-goer is suing McDonald’s in a proposed class action lawsuit linked to the fast-food chain’s Quarter Pounder burgers, which were recently pulled from the menu in 13 states due to a string of illnesses and hospitalizations associated with an E. coli outbreak.

Tammy Williams claims she felt sick and tested positive for E. coli after eating at a McDonald’s in Lyon County, Nevada. She is seeking to represent a class of consumers who allege, like her, they would not have purchased a Quarter Pounder had they known that ingesting it could cause serious infection.

Anyone in the U.S. who purchased a Quarter Pounder from McDonald’s may be able to automatically join this Milberg class action lawsuit.

Quarter Pounder E. Coli Outbreak Tied to Onions

In late October, McDonald’s temporarily stopped selling Quarter Pounders at around one-fifth of its U.S. restaurants as federal health officials investigated an E. coli outbreak that they now say originated from slivered onions supplied by Taylor Farms and served on the burgers.

An FDA announcement notes that the slivered onions implicated in the outbreak were sold to food service providers and not sold to grocery stores or directly to consumers. Diced onions used at McDonald’s are not part of the outbreak.

From September 27 to October 30, 90 E. coli infections were reported in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. At least twenty-seven people were hospitalized and one elder adult died.

Two people sickened in the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak developed HUS, a serious complication that can cause kidney failure, permanent health problems, and even death.

Quick work by disease surveillance specialists is credited with tracking down the source of the E. coli contamination. Following the outbreak, state and local health officials interviewed people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 62 interviewed, all 62 reported eating at McDonald’s, the CDC reported on October 30.

Symptoms of E. coli infection typically start within 3 to 4 days of consuming the bacteria and commonly include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting, according to the CDC. Most people recover without treatment within a week, but the severity or presence of specific symptoms can depend on the strain of E. coli causing the infection.

Some infections may lead to life-threatening conditions such as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a complication that can cause kidney failure. Two people sickened in the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak developed HUS.

Plaintiff Ate at McDonald’s, Tested Positive for E. Coli

With the outbreak contained, McDonald’s returned Quarter Pounders to its menu at 3,000 locations, although consumer sentiment about the restaurant has reportedly taken a hit. McDonald’s could also take a hit financially as it faces lawsuits over its E. coli-tainted burgers.

The restaurant stated that it took “swift and decisive action” to help stop the outbreak and that the “health and safety of our people and customers” is its top priority.

Given that Plaintiff and Class Members paid a premium for the Burgers, Plaintiff and Class Members suffered an injury in the amount of the premium paid.

Milberg’s lawsuit, filed on October 31 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, calls its class action remedy “superior to Taylor Farms’ failed recall in every conceivable fashion” and characterizes McDonald’s marketing and advertising of Quarter Pounders as “false, deceptive, and misleading” because the burgers contain—or risk containing—E. coli, making them “dangerous to one’s health and well-being” and “entirely worthless.”

“Plaintiff and Class Members paid a price premium for the Burgers based on Defendant’s marketing and advertising campaign, including its false and misleading representations and omissions,” the complaint states.

According to Williams, she ate a Quarter Pounder at a Nevada McDonald’s on October 21 and three days later felt sick and sought medical attention, at which point she received a positive test for E. coli. Williams asserts that, had the restaurant truthfully disclosed that the Quarter Pounder was possibly contaminated with E. coli, she would not have been willing to purchase the food and that she lost money due to McDonald’s “improper conduct.”

Williams is seeking to establish a nationwide class and a Nevada subclass of consumers who purchased Quarter Pounders. Her lawsuit is based on violations of Illinois consumer protection laws, negligence, and unjust enrichment.

Milberg attorneys Russell Busch, Nick Suciu III, and Trent Kashima are representing Williams and the class on a contingency-fee basis.

The firm’s class action practice was recently credited with filing the fifth most lawsuits in the country from 2021 to 2023. And in 2023, no firm filed more consumer protection lawsuits than Milberg.