In Chipotle’s third food poisoning scandal this year, the chain has just temporarily closed dozens of Washington and Oregon locations due to an E. coli scare.
They closed these restaurants out of “an abundance of caution,” but the damage is already done. One of the victims of the food poisoning has already filed a lawsuit.
So far, 19 Washington residents and 3 Oregon residents have fallen ill. 8 have been hospitalized but no deaths have been reported.
One victim, Chris Collins of Portland, Oregon, admitted himself to urgent care two days after eating Chipotle. The urgent care center sent him to the emergency room.
The woman who filed a lawsuit against the restaurant is a pharmacist from Kelso, Washington, who ate at a Vancouver, Washington Chipotle. She was affected by E. coli symptoms four days later, and health officials pinpointed that the Chipotle outbreak was responsible. She’s seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
Right now, Jonathan Modie, a spokesman for the Oregon Public Health division has received over 100 calls and e-mails about sickness from E. coli, but only three Oregon cases have been confirmed.
He also reported on what they believe may have caused the outbreak.
“We are looking at everything but our epidemiology investigation is guiding us toward produce. Chipotle has meat products, but based on things we heard from people who got sick…it seems like the most common denominator is some kind of vegetable course.”
Though only six restaurants are currently involved in the case, Chipotle has shut down 43 locations just to be safe.
