Nebraska woman files lawsuit over E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's

A Nebraska woman is the second person to file a lawsuit against McDonald's over an E. coli outbreak linked to the fast food chain's burgers. Clarissa DeBock filed the lawsuit Thursday in Cook County, Illinois, where McDonald's is based.

Clarissa DeBock According to the suit, DeBock ate at a McDonald's restaurant in Nebraska on Sept. 18 and became ill on Sept. 23.



On Sept. 25, she went to the emergency room at Great Plains Health in North Platte. After undergoing blood work, a stool sample and CT imaging, she was diagnosed with E.

coli O157:H7, according to her attorney, Ron Simon. She was put on antibiotics and is still recovering. A news release announcing the lawsuit did not say where in Nebraska DeBock is from, and Simon's office could not be reached for comment.

As of Tuesday, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said all nine E. coli cases in the state linked to the outbreak were in the Omaha and Lincoln areas, so it's not clear if DeBock's illness was included in the total. DeBock is the second client represented by Simon to file a lawsuit over the outbreak.

On Wednesday, a Colorado man, Eric Stelly, filed a similar suit. Simon said in a news release that he is potentially representing 15 additional clients. "Our office continues to receive calls around the clock from victims in this outbreak," he said in a statement.

The outbreak, which health officials suspect is linked to onions used on Quarter Pounders, has so far sickened at least 49 people in 10 states. Ten people have been hospitalized, including four in Nebraska, and a woman in Colorado died. According to media reports, Taylor Farms, a supplier to McDonald's, recalled four kinds of onions Thursday because of potential E.

coli contamination. Also on Thursday, the parent companies of Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell said they were removing fresh onions from stores that are supplied by Taylor Farms. Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.

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