News

Pines teen blames Wal-Mart for tainted burger, sues

By Joel Marino
Sun-Sentinel.com
2:30 PM EDT, September 26, 2007

PEMBROKE PINES - A local teen and her family have filed a suit against Wal-Mart after the girl allegedly contracted E. coli from eating a hamburger patty sold by one of the retail giant's stores.

Samantha Safranek, 15, suffered kidney failure, was hospitalized for three weeks in August and nearly died, according to the suit filed by Scott Schlesinger, the family's attorney. The family blames E. coli bacteria in the meat.

E. coli is one of many bacteria found in the intestinal tracts of mammals that can cause disorders such as meningitis and urinary tract infections.
Samantha's mother, Anna Safranek, bought beef patties produced by Topps Meat in mid-August at a Pembroke Pines Wal-Mart. Samantha cooked and ate a patty two days later.

She soon became ill with symptoms that included fatigue, cramping and dehydration.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture tested the rest of the patties and found they were contaminated with a strain of E. coli.

Topps Meats, a New Jersey-based business, announced on Tuesday that it would recall more than 331,000 pounds of frozen beef patties distributed around the country. Wal-Mart also said it would remove Topps products from its stores.

"We're not sure why it took both Topps and Wal-Mart so long to respond to this danger," Schlesinger said in a news release. "They were both notified last month, once Samantha's lab test results were completed and once the E. coli diagnosis was made."

Samantha's mother and father are also named as plaintiffs. The suit says damages exceed $15,000 but does not specify how much the family seeks.

Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A. represents clients throughout the state of Florida including the cities of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Carol City, Cooper City, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood, Jupiter, Lake Worth, Miramar, Miami, Oakland Park, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Pompano Beach, and Rivera Beach

Broward County • Miami-Dade County • Palm Beach County