Taco John’s customer sues over E. coli case
Fast food chain Taco John’s has been hit with another lawsuit, this one by a customer who claims she contracted E. coli after eating at a Waterloo franchise.
Taco John’s has acknowledged that customers at three restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota were sickened in late November and early December, but the lawsuit claims that Karen Hibben-Levi became ill after eating at a fourth location in Waterloo.
Filed Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, the lawsuit is the second to be filed in federal court since as many as 76 people were sickened. Health officials have blamed lettuce tainted with a strain of the E. coli bacteria.
In the complaint, Hibben-Levi of Waterloo said she ate at Taco John’s on Nov. 30 and within days began suffering from fatigue, gastrointestinal complications, body aches and nausea.
When her conditioned worsened, Hibben-Levi checked into a local hospital and remained in its care for six days, according to court records. Test results also showed she tested positive for E. coli.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and accuses the restaurant of negligence.
Taco John’s spokesman Brian Dixon said the company has contacted the Black Hawk County Health Department to attempt to confirm the case.
“I have no confirmation where that person ate, if it was a Taco John’s incident or anything of that sort,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “We’re continuing to pursue every avenue to get to the bottom of this situation.”
Mark Linda, environmental health division manager for the Black Hawk County Health Department, said there have been cases of people becoming ill with E. Coli that were not linked to the Iowa location.
Health department officials have not identified the restaurant involved citing state privacy laws.
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