Colorado Man Sues McDonald's for Food Poisoning, Seeking Over $50,000 in Damages After One Death and Nearly 50 Illnesses

In Colorado, a man has filed a lawsuit against McDonald's over a food poisoning incident linked to a quarter Pounder burger. This appears to be the first case of its kind. The incident has killed one person and sickened nearly 50 others. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, alleges that Eric Staley tested positive for E. coli within days of eating food from a McDonald's in Greeley, Colorado, on Oct. 4. The lawsuit says Colorado health officials later informed Staley that his E. coli was linked to the McDonald's outbreak. Staley lives in Greeley, but he filed his lawsuit in Chicago, where McDonald's is based.

The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages, alleging that McDonald's was negligent in the handling and care of its food. McDonald's shares pared gains on news of the lawsuit and were last up 0.5 per cent. Representatives for McDonald's did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald's USA, said Wednesday that the fast-food chain needs to rebuild the public's trust. The move comes after one in five of the company's 14,000 restaurants nationwide removed the food from their menus.

The outbreak in the West and Midwest has sickened people, including one person who died and 10 who were hospitalized with serious complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RON Simon, an attorney representing Staley, said he is representing 15 other people affected by the outbreak.

The company said the CDC and McDonald's were scrutinizing the company's supply of onion slices and beef patties to try to determine the cause of the outbreak. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said late Wednesday that the Onions used were likely the source of the illness, though one of its state partners was testing beef samples for E. coli.