Mike Giordano
News Channel 11
Jan 11, 5:27 PM EST
Students once again lining up for shots…hoping to protect themselves from the Hepatitis A virus that infected at least 15 of their Unicoi County classmates last June.
This is the second and final vaccine students must get.
“I’m glad they’re taking steps to contain it and take care of it. The health department’s been on top of it,” said parent Mary Jo Sullins.
But, local health officials are still not sure where to pinpoint the outbreak’s origin.
They say that’s common.
“Most of the time when there’s a community-wide outbreak like we have in Unicoi you never determine the root cause just because if you have 15 kids who are symptomatic, you probably have 40 or 50 other kids who also have hepatitis a who don’t have any symptoms,” said Dr. David L. Kirschke, a medical epidemiologist with the Tennessee Department of Health.

Continue Reading Health Officials Still Fighting Hepatitis A Virus in Unicoi County

Hepatitis A may cause no symptoms at all when it is contracted, especially in children. Such individuals will only know they were infected (and have become immune — you can only get hepatitis A once) by getting a blood test later in life. However, many children and most adults will experience the sudden onset of an influenza-like illness, starting about 30 days after contracting the hepatitis A virus.
After a day or a few days of muscle aches, headache, anorexia (loss of appetite), abdominal discomfort, fever and malaise, jaundice (also termed “icterus”) sets in. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, eyes and mucous membranes that occurs because bile flows poorly through the liver and backs up into the blood. The urine will also turn dark with bile and the stool light or clay-colored from lack of bile. When jaundice sets in, the initial systemic manifestations begin to subside.
Hepatitis A is an acute self-limiting disease.5 “The incubation period of Hepatitis A is 15-50 days, with a mean of about 30 days.”6 The onset of symptoms is typically abrupt, and early manifestations of the disease include fever, intense malaise, anorexia, vomiting, extreme abdominal discomfort, and a persistent and disabling fatigue. There is no specific treatment for hepatitis A virus infection. Treatment and management of the infection is merely supportive.

Continue Reading What are the symptoms of infection with Hepatitis A?

Five lawsuits have already been filed against the Chi-Chi’s restaurant chain over a hepatitis A outbreak that has killed three people and sickened more than 600, and scores of other lawsuits are likely to follow.
But legal experts say two key issues facing the company could determine whether victims and their families get the settlements they seek: insurance and bankruptcy.
The Mexican restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 8, citing cash flow problems, a month before the hepatitis outbreak was confirmed.
On Friday, a bankruptcy judge gave limited approval to Chi-Chi’s plans to begin paying some expenses for those sickened in the outbreak – up to $20,000 per claim. He did not, however, fully approve Chi-Chi’s plan to pay $500,000 on an insurance deductible so the company could tap into as much as $51 million in liability insurance it may need to settle claims. A hearing is set for Tuesday on the matter.

Continue Reading Chi-Chi’s Faces Lawsuits Over Hepatitis

A woman who says she contracted hepatitis-A after eating a sandwich at a Mount Vernon McDonald’s has sued the restaurant.
The woman, Helen Cook of Mount Vernon, said she became ill after eating at the Riverside Drive restaurant in February 1998.
McDonald’s did not immediately comment on the lawsuit, filed yesterday in Skagit County Superior Court.
But Seattle attorney William Marler, representing Cook, said her illness is a reminder of how vulnerable Americans have become to disease transmitted through food.
“It just underscores the need for fast-food restaurants to be ever vigilant about how they handle their product, how they cook their product and who they have working,” he said.

Continue Reading WOMAN’S SUIT ALLEGES SHE GOT HEPATITIS AT MCDONALD’S

Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm nationally-known for its successful representation of persons injured in food-borne illness outbreaks, today announced that it had obtained a $1.06 million settlement on behalf of 29 persons who claim to have been infected with the Hepatitis A virus as a result of eating contaminated food at two local Subway Sandwich franchises.
“This is truly a superior result,” said Denis Stearns, a partner at the Marler Clark law firm. “While no amount of money can ever give back the time lost by our clients to this painful disease, or erase their painful memories, we are confident that this settlement will go a long way toward putting our clients’ lives back on track.” Stearns added, “More importantly, this settlement sends a strong message to restaurant owners that they will be held accountable for the sale of food contaminated by hepatitis-infected food workers.”

Continue Reading Seattle Law Firm Obtains $1.06 Million Settlement On Behalf of Hepatitis Outbreak Victims

Hepatitis A is one of five human hepatitis viruses that primarily infect the human liver and cause human illness. (There are many other viruses that can inflame the liver which infect us more generally.) The other known human hepatitis viruses are hepatitis B, C, D, and E. Hepatitis A is relatively unusual in nations with developed sanitation systems such as the United States. Nevertheless, it continues to occur here.
Each year, an estimated 100 persons die as a result of acute liver failure in the United States due to Hepatitis A1. Approximately 30 – 50,000 cases occur yearly in the United States and the direct and indirect costs of these cases exceed $300 million1. The unfortunate aspect of these statistics is that with 21st century medicine, Hepatitis A is totally preventable, and isolated cases, and especially outbreaks relegated to food consumption, need not occur.
Viral Hepatitis is a major public health concern in the United States, and a source of significant morbidity and mortality.1 The Hepatitis A virus or “HAV” is heat stable and will survive for up to a month at ambient temperatures in the environment.

William D. Marler (www.williammarler.com), an attorney at Marler Clark LLP PS (http://www.marlerclark.com) has extensive experience representing victims of bacterial and viral food poisonings. Since 1993, Marler Clark has represented victims of most of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, including the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli, 1998 Odwalla E. coli, 1999 Sun Orchard Salmonella, 2002 ConAgra E. coli and Chili’s Salmonella outbreaks, the 2003 Chi Chi’s Hepatitis A outbreak, and the 2004 Sheetz Salmonella outbreak.
Bill feels that a lawyer should do more than just sue corporations. That is why he speaks frequently on issues of safe food and formed Outbreak, Inc. (http://www.outbreakinc.com), a not-for-profit business dedicated to explaining to companies why it is in their interest to avoid food illness litigation. Bill also has created (http://marlerblog.com) as a way of updating the Web on issues of interest to him.

Continue Reading William D. Marler, Food Litigation Attorney

William Marler is the managing partner in the law firm Marler Clark L.L.P., P.S. Since 1993, Mr. Marler has represented thousands of victims of E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Listeria, Shigella, Campylobacter and Norwalk Virus illnesses in over thirty States. As a trial lawyer, Mr. Marler has been involved with several cases of national importance. He represented the children murdered by Wesley Alan Dodd, an escaped Washington State convict; the family of William Louth, who died when a crane collapsed during Kingdome roof repairs; the Terlicker family in its suit against Martin Pang and the City of Seattle stemming from an arson fire; and Brianne Kiner in her $15.6 million E. coli settlement with Jack-in-the-Box. This settlement created a state record for an individual personal injury action. Mr. Marler resolved several other Jack-in-the-Box E. coli cases for more than $2.5 million each.
In May of 1998, he settled the Odwalla Juice E. coli outbreak for the families of children who were severely injured after consuming Odwalla apple juice for $12 million. He represented several children in an E. coli outbreak stemming from E. coli contaminated swimming pool water in Georgia. In 2001 he successfully tried to verdict an E. coli case involving a school lunch program in Washington State. The jury returned a verdict of $4.75 million. He also resolved dozens of E. coli cases in 2003 related to one of the largest meat recalls in United States. Mr. Marler recently settled an E. coli case for a young girl for $11 million. In addition, Mr. Marler has been lead counsel in:
Sheetz Salmonella Outbreak:
www.about-salmonella.com/articles/Sheetz/Sheetz.htm
Paramount Farms Salmonella Outbreak:
www.about-salmonella.com/articles/paramount/paramount.htm
Sequoias E. coli Outbreak:
www.about-ecoli.com/news/sequoias.htm
Chi Chi’s Hepatitis A Outbreak:
http://www.about-hepatitis.com/articles/chichis/chichis.htm
Goldcoast Produce E. coli Outbreak:
http://www.about-ecoli.com/news/goldcoast.htm
Golden Corral Salmonella Outbreak:
www.about-salmonella.com/articles/goldencorral/goldencorral.htm
Habaneros E. coli Outbreak:
http://www.about-ecoli.com/news/habanero.htm
Chili’s Salmonella Outbreak:
www.about-salmonella.com/articles/chilis/chilis.htm

Continue Reading William D. Marler, Hepatitis A Lawyer