Lawsuit alleges Red Cow served meat tainted with E. coli that left three Minnesotans hospitalized

Three Minnesotans who were hospitalized and suffered lasting injuries were served undercooked hamburgers tainted with E. coli at various Red Cow restaurants in the Twin Cities as part of an outbreak of the disease that originated from their meat distributor, Wolverine Packing Co., according to a civil lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court this week.

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of Melissa Rosenbaum, Sheri-Ann McGruder and Tyler Magnuson, accuses Red Cow and Wolverine Packing Co. of negligence and strict product liability for how the meat was processed and handled from Wolverine’s slaughterhouses to Red Cow’s restaurant tables. Damages are being sought in excess of $50,000.

“E. coli is an invisible pathogen so people can’t protect themselves; we rely on the food supplier to keep it safe and, of course, the restaurant as well to thoroughly cook it,” said Eric Hageman, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. “It’s really both entities [Red Cow and Wolverine] that share responsibly in a situation like this. That’s what’s so scary about it for consumers is there’s nothing we can do to protect ourselves and we’re wholly reliant on these other entities to follow the rules.”

Hageman, who has won several multimillion-dollar settlements over E. coli lawsuits, said he would not be surprised if more plaintiffs join the suit.

Red Cow, a family restaurant that has grown to six locations in the Twin Cities, said in a statement that the company took immediate action to minimize the impact of the contaminated beef on their customers and, “like those who were infected, Red Cow seeks to hold Wolverine accountable.”

The restaurant also said it immediately switched suppliers for its beef and worked with the Minnesota Department of Health in identifying what led to the outbreak.

In November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Wolverine recalled approximately 167,277 pounds of ground beef because it may have been tainted with E. coli. That problem was first discovered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, which initially linked 15 patients in Minnesota to the outbreak. One of those infections was found to have happened at the Hen House restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.

The recall included fresh and frozen ground beef products from Wolverine, which was founded in 1937 in Michigan and employs more than 900 people. The company processes hundreds of thousands of pounds of beef every week and supplies it to every state in the country.

Messages left with the attorney representing Wolverine were not returned, nor were messages left with its corporate office.

The lawsuit details the injuries the three plaintiffs incurred. Rosenbaum spent three weeks in the hospital and developed hemolytic uremic syndrome that led to serious kidney injuries and required blood transfusions for treatment. McGruder was hospitalized several times and also developed hemolytic uremic syndrome as well as anemia, which required multiple blood transfusions. Magnuson had to make multiple trips to the emergency room before ultimately being diagnosed with colitis. All three were confirmed to have been infected with E. coli.

Hageman said Wolverine and Red Cow should have been more prepared for this because Wolverine dealt with another serious outbreak of E. coli in 2014, when it recalled approximately 1.8 million pounds of ground beef, and 12 people across four states were infected.

The suit alleges Wolverine failed to maintain sanitary conditions and operations at its facilities or apply proper food safety policies and procedures. It also claims Wolverine failed to properly test its products for E. coli. It alleges Red Cow failed to adequately identify food safety risks and operate its restaurant in a “safe, clean and sanitary manner.”

About 100 cases of E. coli O157 are reported annually in Minnesota, according to the Health Department.