Orla Thompson, a member of Cozen O’Connor, was quoted in a Law360 article on litigation arising from a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to recalled Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations. The article discusses lawsuits tied to the outbreak and the challenges plaintiffs may face in proving causation. Orla noted that recalls do not automatically establish that a specific consumer’s illness was caused by contaminated lettuce: “Even when there's a recall and certain lots are recalled, simply because there's cyclospora in one lot of shredded lettuce does not mean all of the shredded lettuce in that lot were affected.” She added, “That makes it a bit more difficult to determine whether the lettuce that you ate had cyclospora on it.”

She also emphasized the need to connect an individual illness to the specific outbreak: “Just because you ate at Taco Bell and you got sick, and perhaps you know you had cyclospora, does not necessarily mean that you had the infection that is at issue here,” Orla said.

To read more, click here (subscription required).