The CDC describes 2 genetically unrelated outbreaks of Listeria monocytogenes infections (outbreak A and outbreak B) linked to packaged salads from 2 different firms that were investigated simultaneously in 2021. Combined, the outbreaks caused 30 illnesses, 27 hospitalizations, and 4 deaths over 8 years. Those investigations led to recalls of product from 2 different firms and highlight […]
The agreement to approve a mediation system to handle major legal claims against Chi Chi’s was going to be presented on Tuesday, but was delayed because one of the attorneys couldn’t sign off on it until Wednesday. The agreement will create a 45-day window during which those who got sick could submit their pending lawsuits […]
As Joe Mandak of the Associated Press reported today, Chi Chi’s hepatitis claims may go to mediation. As the AP reported, I have been working for two months to come up with a solution for people who want to get their claims settled. My firm represents 67 people who intend to sue Chi-Chi’s. The bankruptcy […]
I left Pullman in the spring of 1982 with bachelor’s degrees in English, economics and political science with the goal of never looking back. But, similar to many students who have made that vow, I did come back – more often than ever since 1997 when Gov. Gary Locke appointed me to the WSU Board […]
Richard Roesler of the Spokesman Review reported today in his story Education plan faces uncertain fate, that the League of Education Voters has proposed a one-penny sales tax hike which would raise $1 billion a year for schools. As the Spokesman Review reported today: Washington State University Regent Bill Marler said he was surprised that […]
A few months ago, the nation’s worst outbreak of hepatitis A killed three people and sickened 660 others in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. More than 9,000 frightened people flocked to hospitals for tests and inoculations. Now that Chi-Chi’s has reopened its doors, loyal customers are happily returning. But as the “Hepatitis Claims?” billboard on Route 60 […]
As the president of WSU’s Board of Regents, I’m seeing first hand the damage being done by the current college funding crisis. As school budgets are cut, qualified students are turned away. As Jake Ellison of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported today in his article College crisis puts potential students at risk, colleges in this state […]
As I said in my op-ed Secretary Veneman: you have not put me out of business yet, as a trial lawyer I spend much of my time looking for fault. But, from my mother, I learned to compliment and thank someone for doing the right thing, whatever their motives. So, thank you Agricultural Secretary Veneman […]
Does America really have the safest food supply in the world? The Center for Disease Control estimates that each year over 76 million of us become ill, 300,000 are hospitalized and over 5,000 die, just from eating food contaminated with a food borne pathogen. As I said in a recent op-ed What to do about […]
Yesterday, Joe Mandak of the Associated Press reported in his story Hepatitis plaintiffs want judge to OK lawsuits against Chi-Chi’s, that we have asked the bankruptcy judge to lift the automatic stay to sue the restaurant chain. Lifting the stay will be our first step in accessing the $51 million in liability insurance held by […]
Idaho state government earned notoriety two years ago when it cut its higher education budget by 10 percent. As draconian as that was, however, Idaho’s college and university system has not seen the reductions that Washington’s has. In the Evergreen State, the cuts have been more gradual, but more relentless. Too many Washingtonians are unaware […]
About 50 people have submitted paperwork so far to recover medical costs and lost wages related to the hepatitis A outbreak at the Beaver Valley Mall Chi-Chi’s. Many of them have already been issued checks, generally for less than $3,000 each. Any claim higher than $3,000 requires review from either insurance companies or the bankruptcy […]
As James McNair of the Cincinnati Enquirer reported in his article Castellini named in hepatitis suit, my firm has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Richard and Linda in Pittsburg against Castellini Co., because the green onions connected with the recent Chi Chi’s hepatitis A outbreak may have passed through the company’s warehouse. The Millers […]
As Dan Fitzpatrick reported for his Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story, Hepatitis waning, but costs continue to climb, the Chi Chi’s hepatitis A outbreak in Beaver County is causing serious money problems for local families and businesses. There is not one local business “where I cannot think of a person affected,” said Beaver County Chamber of Commerce […]
In an article Chi-Chi’s litigation hinges on company’s insurance, the Associated Press reported yesterday about the lawsuits my firm is handling in the hepatitis A outbreak which has so far claimed three lives and made at least 600 people ill. The source of the outbreak has been traced to Mexican grown green onions, but thus […]
As the Associated Press reported, Chi-Chi’s faces 5 lawsuits over hepatitis, and more lawsuits are likely to follow. The outbreak has killed three people and sickened more than 600. The challenge we face in getting these victims compensated is partially that the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, so all claims against the company are […]