Taco Bell Lawsuit Alleges Chain's Food Gave Salmonella To Leah Smith, Oklahoma Woman

Leah Smith, a 22-year-old Oklahoma woman, filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell on February 17, alleging that the fast-food chain was responsible for the serious case of salmonella infection she suffered in November, Food Safety News reports.

The suit alleges that Smith ate at Taco Bell on November 3, 2011, and fell ill two days later. Her illness, which was gastrointestinal in nature, got progressively worse and necessitated several trips to doctors. A stool sample tested positive for salmonella. According to the suit, Smith was ill for two weeks and missed one week of work.

At the time, Smith was unable to connect her illness to a specific cause. The CDC confirmed, in the beginning of January, that there had been a widespread outbreak of salmonella in the Midwest around the time of her illness, but the Center refused to specify the restaurant chain that had propagated the salmonella.

A lengthy investigation on the part of Food Safety News, with the help of officials in Oklahoma and Michigan, tied Taco Bell to the outbreak.

The Food Safety News investigation led Smith to connect her illness to the meat at Taco Bell and to file the lawsuit. Smith is seeking $75,000 in damages for her emotional and physical distress and for her missed week of work.

She is being represented by Seattle-based law firm Marler Clark, which also publishes and underwrites Food Safety News.

In a phone call with HuffPost Food, Amy Kavanaugh, vice president of public affairs for Taco Bell, described the relationship between Marler Clark and Food Safety News as a conflict of interest. She noted that the CDC had rejected the possibility that the outbreak had been brought about by mishandled beef, indicating that fault lay with a supplier, rather than any specific chain that bought the infected ingredient, which has not yet been determined.

"The fact of the matter is that we do know the problem likely occurred at the supplier before it was delivered to any restaurant," she said. "Some people that were ill ate at our restaurants and some people didn't."

Kavanaugh refused to discuss the specifics of Smith's case, though she emphasized that any customer who approached Taco Bell directly with a "legitimate claim" of injury would receive recompense for their hardship.

"We expected that one or more lawyers, especially the one who's been focused on this topic, would sue over this incident," she said. "And they're doing so despite the fact that the CDC did not name us in their report. We stand behind our restaurants, our team members and our food."

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[AKansasComment]

03:54 PM on 02/24/2012

Now the world knows why I've always called the place "Taco Hell."

[rhettphive]

05:32 PM on 02/23/2012

Yo quero too much $$ for the trots

[daigz]

11:53 AM on 02/23/2012

Seriously? Suing Taco Bell cause their food made you sick is like suing a diner cause their omelet has eggs in it.

[nbart71]

09:25 AM on 02/23/2012

The onset of food poisoining can take anywhere from approximately 6 to 48 hours. You might want to remember that before "poo-pooing" her story... heh, heh.

[sexyspeedcat1]

09:16 AM on 02/23/2012

Im a nurse, it takes 1 to 3 days to start feeling sick from salmonella. But still doesnt change the fact that she suing for far too much money, 75,000$ for one week worth of work and a stomach bug? STEEP

[queenfrizzy7]

09:45 AM on 02/23/2012

I agree 100% !!!!

[Triple M]

08:59 AM on 02/23/2012

Holy tacos, 75.000 $$$$ for distressed emotions !

[yaller986]

08:59 AM on 02/23/2012

Anyone who has worked in food service knows the vast majority of illnesses occur at home, due to unsanitary conditions. An inspector once told me if I had a problem at our restaurant, he would know about it before I did because so many people would come down with the same illness. If it is an isolated case, like so many of these posts, it is not the restaurants fault.
I remember one customer called me and complained a pizza made him sick. I went through my speil and he said "Well, may be it was the case of beer I drank with it."

[brew8jn]

08:47 AM on 02/23/2012

Reason #506 for not eating at Taco Bell...gross. And I have had food poisoning once, and I got sick within a couple of hours, not a couple of days...

[highercallchurch]

06:38 AM on 02/23/2012

$75,000? So, her week or two of the stomach bug is worth two years of wages for the average adult? People should be penalized for eating at Taco Bell not rewarded.

[Erica McClellan]

02:59 AM on 02/23/2012

I've gotten sick a few of times off of Taco Bell's food. Different restaurants in different states. I stopped eating there, or even trying a "new" one. Problem solved. Besides, some of the "pranks" that their employees have pulled on the public are disgusting and VERY much a health hazard. I've seen the video of the guy pooping in the chili, and knew a guy who bragged about the nasty things he did to the food when he worked there.

I refuse to be paranoid, I have a three strikes rule. If I get sick three times after eating at any restaurant, it's their habit to be substandard and they don't deserve my money. I don't care if it's three times out of twenty, three strikes and they are out. If I get sick multiple times after trying new branches, that chain is out completely (like Taco Hell).

[Jaynelbob]

10:09 PM on 02/23/2012

Pooping in the chili? OMG, that's so disgusting and then FILMING it?? I'm just gobsmacked.

[Merri]

02:25 AM on 02/23/2012

My friend got sick after eating at the Taco Bell in Los Angeles. Eating out does have its risks because you don't know if the workers there properly cook or clean the place. Also, buying certain foods at the grocery store may not be safe as well. Remember those food recalls?

Food poisoning is not pleasant, I know, I once was sick myself. The only cure is let it naturally flush out of your system. Just drink plenty of water.

[J Owen Williams]

02:14 AM on 02/23/2012

It's called "you get what you paid for".

[lusotropicalism]

02:01 AM on 02/23/2012

Taco Hell. I believe Leah Smith. I've eaten at two different Taco Bells over the years, got salmonella at one of them and gastrointestinal parasites from the other. Nunca mas. Taco Hell hires too many ditzy kids. Relatives of mine have reported seeing, on numerous occasions, Taco Hell employees not washing their hands after using the john, going right back to work preparing/serving food with unwashed/unsanitized hands. It's revolting. I hope Leah Smith wins her lawsuit.

[luvhairymen2]

07:06 AM on 02/23/2012

I am leery of this woman's story. If you get food poisoning, it does not take 2 days to become ill. You will know it in a matter of 5-8 hours after ingestion; cramps, vomiting, and the runs.

[IdahoBlue777]

09:19 AM on 02/23/2012

According to WebMD, Salmonella symptoms can begin up to 72 hours after eating the contaminated food. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/tc/salmonellosis-topic-overview It's also quite possible that the offending food was the lettuce or the tomatoes. If that were the case, there is really nothing Taco Bell could have done to avoid the woman's illness.

[randy66]

01:49 AM on 02/23/2012

I don’t understand why everyone seems to be down on fast food I have eaten it for over 40 years and never got sick. When you live a fast life style you don’t have time to spend hours every day cooking food and cleaning dishes also to eat at upscale restaurants you would need to be well off with your finances.
I thank most comments against fast food restaurants’ are just health nuts trying to scare people in to not eating fast food.

[Erica McClellan]

03:02 AM on 02/23/2012

I think you must have an iron gut! I'm awed.

[gloria austin]

04:10 AM on 02/23/2012

It's possible that you have grown accustomed to your intestinal reactions to fast foods, thinking that everything is normal because that is what you always feel. Maybe not, just guessing here. Some people don't realize how sick they are. They medicate a separate problem, or numb pain with alcohol or other stuff, and end up covering up the real pain. If you really think you're healthy after 40 years of fast food, (once a week? twice?) well, you may see that change if you continue to regularly eat crappy fast food after turning 50.

[Tiffiny Hargrave]

01:44 AM on 02/23/2012

I wish I had the mind to sue them too! I got really, really sick after eating at one of their locations last year in Estes or Frisco, Colorado. Two days of nasty... so sick, I can't even write about it in full detail. No exaggeration.

[Tiffiny Hargrave]

01:48 AM on 02/23/2012

And I hate Taco Bell... don't generally eat there, or fast food for that matter. My friends were uber hungry and that was the only option. Boo!

[lusotropicalism]

02:07 AM on 02/23/2012

I believe you. I felt like I was going to die after eating at BOTH the Roswell, NM's Taco Bell North & Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken South "restaurants." It was so gross. Got salmonella at the North end Taco Hell, then two years later, gastrointestinal parasites at their Roswell South Taco Hell. Nunca mas.