Bliven Law Firm, P.C. filed a lawsuit last week against two Flathead Valley businesses in connection to a local E. Coli outbreak that left one person dead and several others sick.
The Gunsight Saloon and Lower Valley Processing, a Kalispell-based facility, are listed as the defendants in the complaint. The suit stems from an E. Coli outbreak in July that impacted several restaurants and customers in the Flathead Valley. The outbreak is suspected to have come from meat slaughtered on June 5 at Lower Valley Processing, according to the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL). Officials reported 14 confirmed cases.
The plaintiff in the filed Complaint ate a Wagyu beef burger at the Gunsight Saloon on July 1, according to the complaint. The restaurant made the burger out of meat from a contaminated lot. She got sick on July 6, sought medical care and subsequently tested positive for E. Coli on July 10. The lawsuit alleges the meat was “defective and unreasonably dangerous” because of its contamination with the bacteria, and that the defendants breached their duty of care in selling food that is safe to eat.
Bliven Law Firm, P.C. filed the case, along with Bill Marler of Marler Clark, Inc. PS, a Washington-based law firm. The complaint was filed in Flathead County District Court on Wednesday.
The Gunsight Saloon is the only restaurant named in the lawsuit, but it’s not the only business that sold the contaminated beef.
“The owners of Gunsight want to express our sincere condolences to anyone that may have been exposed to this highly toxic pathogen in our establishment,” a statement from the Gunsight Saloon to the Missoulian read. “We took immediate action, in coordination with the Flathead County health department, when we learned we had been sold, in good faith, a contaminated product from a local ranch and processor. Unfortunately, some of the beef made it to consumers before we were alerted.”
Multiple restaurants around the Flathead valley were associated with the outbreak, including Hops Downtown Grill, Tamarack Brewing Company, the Lodge at Whitefish Lake and Harbor Grille. Investigators determined the one death was linked to wagyu beef eaten at the Harbor Grille, according to information previously shared by the Flathead County Health Department.
Lower Valley Processing declined to comment.
Marler said in a phone call his firm was contacted by four other individuals, two of whom ate at different restaurants (not the Gunsight Saloon) about possible exposure. He said he’s represented thousands of E. coli cases linked to hamburger meat in his law career, but they don’t happen as often nowadays.
“E. Coli cases linked to hamburger are super rare,” Marler said. “I cannot think of one this large that’s happened for a while.”
The Montana Department of Livestock issued a recall notice on Tuesday for animal products linked to the bacteria. Three lot numbers were tested, and one lot confirmed the presence of E. Coli, though the source of the E. Coli contamination has not been identified, according to the DOL news release.
The Missoulian previously reported Flathead health officials got their first report of a sick person on July 8, and new case reports trickled in after that.
All of the cases involved people eating uncooked or made-to-order burgers using wagyu beef. The last known date someone ate the meat was July 14. Patients associated with the outbreak had Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157, which can be caused when someone eats raw or undercooked animal products contaminated with this strain of bacteria, the release stated.
If you or a family member has been impacted by the recent E. Coli outbreak, our lawyers at Bliven Law Firm, P.C. are here to help! Contact us at (406) 625-0100 to schedule a free consultation.