McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead


What happened
McDonald's was sued Thursday by a Colorado customer who became ill with E. coli after eating at the fast food chain, the first such lawsuit stemming from an outbreak that has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead. The E. coli was linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders, and U.S. health officials said this week that slivered onions on the burger were the "likely source of contamination."
Who said what
Eric Stelly, the first plaintiff, experienced "gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, stomach cramps, nausea, and dehydration, as well as bloody stools" after eating at his local McDonald's on Oct. 4, according to his lawyer. His claim was the "first of what is expected to be multiple lawsuits over the E. coli outbreak," Fox Business said. Most of the reported illnesses have been in Colorado and Nebraska. A Nebraska woman, Clarissa DeBock, filed a second E. coli lawsuit against McDonald's, represented by the same lawyer.
McDonald's said Thursday that onions from Taylor Farms Colorado had been pulled from restaurants in the Mountain West, where sales of Quarter Pounders have also been halted. The Food and Drug Administration said Taylor Farms was the source of the potentially contaminated onions. Other fast food chains "were pulling fresh onions out of their menu items" on Thursday, including Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, Reuters said. Major food distributors Sysco and U.S. Food also notified customers of the onion recall.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Stelly is seeking more than $50,000 in damages. Health officials and McDonald's have "not ruled out possible contamination of the quarter-pound beef patties used for the burger, a popular menu item," The New York Times said. But experts said while beef often used to be the culprit in E. coli outbreaks, safety changes following several high-profile outbreaks have made beef less likely to be the source.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the right
Speed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
‘Nightmare bacteria’ are rapidly spreading
Under the radar The infections are largely resistant to antibiotics
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the US
The explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
-
Private equity firms might be causing more deaths in hospital ERs
The Explainer Deaths in ERs purchased by private equity firms rose 13%
-
Why are autism rates increasing?
The Explainer Medical experts condemn Trump administration’s claim that paracetamol during pregnancy is linked to rising rates of neurodevelopmental disorder in US and UK
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shot
Speed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Why social media is obsessed with cortisol
In The Spotlight Wellness trend is the latest response to an increasingly maligned hormone
-
Scientists are speeding up evolution
Under the radar Proteins can evolve in minutes