A lawsuit filed this week alleges a 3-year-old girl fell ill with acute kidney failure after eating contaminated beef at a Costa Mesa Mediterranean restaurant on March 28, during what USDA officials later determined to be an E. coli outbreak.
An attorney representing Costa Mesa resident Jeffrey Gogue — acting as guardian ad litem for his daughter, identified in the suit as “KG” — claims the family purchased a chicken and a beef kofta plate from the Kebab Shop at 1555 Adams Ave. and shared a portion of the food with the young girl.
The following day, KG “began to suffer from bloody diarrhea, nausea and vomiting,” according to the complaint filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court. By April 3, her health had deteriorated significantly, causing her to be hospitalized at Children’s Hospital for 17 days.
California’s Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to beef kofta and the Kebab Shops in California, taking place sometime between March 27 and April 30.
As of May 19, CDPH had recorded nine illnesses stemming from the outbreak, six of them children, resulting in five hospitalizations and two known cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, which attacks red blood cells and platelets, leading to kidney failure, according to the lawsuit.
The Kebab Shop restaurant chain in a statement Sunday said it had cut ties with supplier Olympia Foods, which is also a named defendant in the lawsuit.
“Both the California Department of Public Health and USDA confirmed that there are no reported cases of E. coli outside California possibly linked to this E. coli outbreak, and that there is no ongoing risk to consumers because this product was voluntarily removed by TKS nationwide on May 18,’’ the Kebab Shop chain said in its statement.
The company added in its statement that it was “deeply concerned that product from our supplier has been identified as the potential source of a food-borne illness outbreak. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by this outbreak. The health and safety of our customers is our highest priority.”
A message left with Olympia Foods was not immediately returned, CNS reported.
Tuesday’s complaint accuses the chain and supplier with strict products liability for supplying tainted meat, negligence, and breach of implied warranties, for offering an allegedly dangerous product as safe. Attorneys seek relief for economic and non-economic damages, as well as compensation for legal costs.
Texas attorney Ron Simon — who exclusively handles food poisoning cases — estimates the Gogue family is likely facing “hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospital bills,” due to the incident and could be hit with more, should the condition of KG’s kidneys continue to decline.
“It’s terrifying,” he told the Daily Pilot Wednesday of his clients’ experience. “What’s even more terrifying is whether their kid is going to be OK. In several cases, you have to have a kidney transplant.”
Simon said he and litigating attorney, San Diego-based John Gomez, have three objectives — fully and fairly compensating the Gogues, finding out how the contamination happened and making sure it never happens again.
“You as a consumer have no way of knowing [whether E. coli is present]; you can’t see or taste it,” he added. “So when restaurants refuse what they’re supposed to do, it’s a huge breach of trust.”
