Bill Marler is an accomplished personal injury lawyer and national expert on food-borne illness litigation. He began representing victims of food-borne illness in 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, resulting in her landmark $15.6 million settlement. Since that time, Bill and his law partners at Marler Clark have represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products have caused serious injury and death. His advocacy for better food regulation has led to invitations to address local, national, and international gatherings on food safety, including testimony before the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce. In 1998, Bill and his law partners formed the not for profit Outbreak Inc., through which he spends much of the year speaking on issues related to food-borne illness. Bill’s personal blog, Marler Blog, is read by over one million people around the world every year.
I recently participated in "The Conversation", which aired on the local Seattle public television station, KCTS. Enrique Cerna and I talked about how food safety -- and the laws that govern food safety -- have changed since I represented victims of the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak. I think it airs opposite of the Superbowl this Sunday....
This past week, I read Utah's S.B. 34 titled "Production and Sale of Food in Utah Revisions," along with its New Hampshire counterpart, H.B. 1650-FN, called "Commerce in Food in New Hampshire." As any lawyer would, I immediately asked myself, "what are these pieces of legislation really trying to do?," and, of course, "are they constitutional?" I'll get to those...
When the Associated Press reported this week that an owner of Jensen Farms was being fined by the U.S. Department of Labor for failing to provide safe migrant worker housing, I must admit even I was a bit shocked. Could it be that an owner of a business that allowed a deadly fecal bacterium, Listeria, to coat its product would...
In 2009 I was asked by the editors of the New York Times to join in a discussion at "Room For Debate" about a single food-safety agency and to post a 300- to 400-word position statement on that issue. After whacking away at it, I finally got it down to size. Now, with renewed discussion about consolidating food-safety regulation, the...
I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth over such an un-American suggestion.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the creation of yet another multiagency task force in North Carolina "to evaluate the preventive measures that were in place during the 2011 state fair and to identify additional interventions that could be applied to prevent disease transmission...
Full Disclosure: If you do not like lawyers, and according to most polls lawyers are less liked than members of Congress, your first thought might be that this op-ed's purpose is to get public health to announce more outbreaks so I can get more work. That certainly might be a result of more robust disclosure, but believe me, with $100,000,000...
On the first day of Christmas my food maker gave to me: Listeria in a cantaloupe. On the second day of Christmas my food maker gave to me: Two pounds of Ground Turkey, and Listeria in a Cantaloupe. On the third day of Christmas my food maker gave to me: Three Tainted Papayas, Two pounds of Ground Turkey, and Listeria in a...
With the Hannaford Hamburger Salmonella Outbreak of 2011 hitting the wires a few days ago, Salmonella -- especially antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Outbreaks -- should be on manufacturers', regulators' and consumers' minds. On December 16, Hannaford, a Scarborough, Maine-based grocery chain, recalled fresh ground beef products that may have been contaminated with a strain of Salmonella Typhimurium. The recall resulted from an...
While many of us have been wondering what the Kardashians will do next, or who will be cut from Dancing with the Stars, or what silly thing the Republican presidential nomination race will bring next, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Outbreak Response Team has been busy protecting us, or at least figuring out what happened.The CDC's Outbreak Response...
Once again the year is drawing to a close and we start to think about making lists and checking them twice. I thought I would reach out to our nearly 10,000 subscribers and ask that you share your thoughts. Who should be on the naughty and nice lists related to food safety in 2011? Below you'll find the lists for...
Food Safety News and yours truly received a nice shout out from Mark Bittman of the New York Times Saturday about what and whom he is thankful for:17. And to Bill Marler, who, as the leading food safety attorney in the country, is trying to keep the things we grow from killing us. Check out Michele Simon on Marler's Food...
It was reported this week that Daxing District People's Court of China has jailed Zhao Lianhai again for disturbing the social order. Following the tainted-milk scandal in 2008, Zhao Lianhai was convicted and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.Zhao's four-year-old son became sick after consuming milk laced with melamine, which is used in plastics and fertilizer production.In 2008, melamine-tainted milk was blamed...
How deadly is this cantaloupe Listeria monocytogenes outbreak and when will it end?Are there as many as 292 ill and 61 dead and could illnesses be reported through November 23, 2011?As of November 1, 2011, the CDC has reported that a total of 139 persons infected with any of the four outbreak-associated strains of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported to...
Last week I was interviewed by The Produce News:Bill Marler, a prominent Seattle-based attorney known for his involvement in food-safety litigation, has filed seven lawsuits and currently represents at least two-dozen individuals or families of people who have become sick or have died because of the outbreak.Mr. Marler told The Produce News that at the end of the day, this will...
With 109 sickened and 21 deaths, the Jensen Farms Frontera Listeria Outbreak is now tied as the second-most deadly foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. The numbers of ill and dead are expected to increase in this recent listeria outbreak, which has impacted 24 states. Here is a list of not the largest, but the deadliest outbreaks...
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