Lawsuit Filed Against Jack In The Box West Side Boy Was Hospitalized During E. Coli Outbreak In 1993

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a boy who was sickened during a 1993 outbreak of food poisoning linked to Jack in the Box fast-food hamburgers.

It is the latest in a string of lawsuits filed against Foodmaker Inc., the parent company of Jack in the Box, and other companies in the poisoning outbreak caused by undercooked hamburger contaminated by E. coli bacteria. The January 1993 epidemic sickened more than 600 people in Washington and killed three.

Jonathan “Michael” Halverson, now 8, of Lacey, Wash., spent 24 days in the hospital after he had eaten a contaminated hamburger at a Lacey Jack in the Box, said attorneys for the law firm of Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender, which filed the suit.

The boy’s kidney functions have recovered, but “he has displayed severe neurological and emotional problems which may well be permanent,” the law firm said in a news release.

The family has incurred about $100,000 in medical costs, which have been covered by Foodmaker’s insurer.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle seeks unspecified damages. It contends Foodmaker and other companies failed to meet government standards for preparing, storing, handling and processing the hamburger meat.

A spokeswoman for San Diego-based Foodmaker, Shirley Gines, said Tuesday the company would “try to reach a fair settlement with the family.”

To date, 97 personal-injury lawsuits have been filed against Foodmaker and 80 have been settled, Gines said. The company does not disclose the dollar amounts of settlements but has insurance to cover them, she said.

Schroeter, Goldmark attorney Michael Withey said the statute of limitations for filing lawsuits stemming from the E. coli outbreak runs out at the end of this month.

He said at least 20 to 30 victims of the outbreak still have not filed claims.