Confidential
Settlement – $5,000,000Judge
Court
USDC Washington
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Experts
Plaintiff
Robert W. Moss
(technical)
Heather H. Oesting
(medical)
C.M. Taylor
(medical)
Gayle Fay
(medical)
Ellis D. Avner
(medical)
Robert L. Nielsen
(medical)
Anthony J. Choppa
(technical)
Stephen T. Glass
(medical)
Michele Terry
(medical)
Mansour Samadpour
(technical)
Defendant
Jerry Bernstein
(medical)
Facts
On January 16, 1993, Seattle, Washington, King County Health Department determined the relationship between a Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak and undercooked, tainted hamburger from Jack in the Box restaurants. On that date, a county official, Tracey Driflot, contacted a Jack in the Box executive. The morning of January 17, 1993, Cherie Warren, along with her 4-year-old daughter, Plaintiff Cheray Jefferson, purchased a hamburger at the Broadway Jack in the Box. Cheray Jefferson became ill and was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
Settlement Discussions
Initial demands and offers prior to the final settlement were not disclosed.
Specials in Evidence
$170,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000
Injuries
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS); acute renal failure requiring hemodialysis; kidney failure for almost one month; multi-system involvement, including extreme colitis requiring removal of approximately one-third of her colon and use of a colostomy bag for some period of time before a reattachment operation; while hospitalized she suffered from acute pancreatitis, cardiac involvement, as well as brain and sensory abnormalities. She further had chronic pancreatitis which may lead to diabetes. It is predicted that Plaintiff will have chronic kidney failure at some time in the future, probably after an interval of 10 years or so. This will necessitate a lifetime of dialysis and/or multiple kidney transplants. The colon resection will necessitate elimination changes for her lifetime. She has residual neurological damage and brain injury from the HUS; substantial neuropsychological deficit and post traumatic stress disorder.
Other Information
In settlement reports, we normally keep the case identification confidential. Due to high media coverage, we've made an exception here.
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