Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Tony Coveny, has been practicing infectious disease litigation exclusively for more than a decade, settling cases against major agro-industrial companies, international suppliers, and domestic distributors and manufacturers. Tony Coveny, alongside Ron Simon, has tried cases against restaurants, distributors, national manufacturers, and foreign corporations to recover damages against their clients. From the main office in Houston, which he manages, he speaks to potential and current clients on a daily basis.

A major national outbreak in 2009 put people on notice that eating raw cookie dough, even from a national manufacturer (Neslte Toll House cookie dough), could be dangerous. In 2009 the CDC identified 90 victims of E. coli O157:H7 in 30 states.  E. coli O157:H7 is the most common form of food-borne E. coli, and sheds Shiga Toxin and leads to serious illness and, in some instances, kidney failure (Hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS) and even death.   Then just last year, in 2015, a major recall of flour was initiated after dozen individuals became sick – again from E. coli. …

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Norovirus is a mutating virus that makes it difficult to fight.  The human body is not able to develop immunity because of the mutative properties of the virus.  As such, it is a virus that can make the same person ill over and again, and since it is highly contagious, most adults will have had it more than once in life.  According to an NBC News report, as many as 21 million Americans get sickened by Norovirus every year, out of about 350 million!  As February comes to a close, Norovirus hits peak season. Norovirus brings on intense pain, vomiting…

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Food From Other Countries Pouring into U.S. More and more of the food we eat comes for international food sources, such as recent shipments of sashimi-grade tune from India, frozen pomegranate arils from Turkey, and “slicer” cucumbers from Mexico.   There is a concurrent increase in the amount of food we export to feed others, such as the millions of pounds of chicken we sell annually to china.  At present, data show that imported food makes up nearly 20% of the food we consume, up from only 12% 20 years ago.  And this trend is likely to continue for a number…

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E. coli IBS, E. coli IBD – New Research on E. coli Arthritis Researchers have identified a strain of E. coli they believe can trigger spondyloarthritis in persons with Crohn’s disease.  According to some estimates, Crohn’s disease affects about 800,000 Americans.  The researchers believe the E. col works as a sort of catalyst for an attack on the immune system, attacking both the bowels and the joints and tendons that are subject to spondyloarthritis. Dr. Randy Longman, the lead scientist on the project, believes that understanding how this particular strain of E. coli works in causing spondyloarthritis in person’s with…

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Salmonella Oral Vaccine: 1.2 Million Sick, with 450 Deaths Annually – Many Develop Post-Infectious IBS and Post-Infectious Reactive Arthritis Salmonella sickens about 1.2 million people in the United States every year, this according to the CDC.  Of these victims, about 450 die each year.  Most of these victims of food borne illness will not even know they have salmonella because many people do not seek medical attention; seek medical attention and do not have a stool culture or blood culture performed; or only have a stool or blood culture performed after they have been on antibiotics.  Of the victims who…

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E. Coli Outbreaks in the U.S. Often Lead to E. coli Lawsuits The E. coli lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates monitor a number of E. coli outbreaks in the U.S. every year, including the most common, E. coli O157, and file E. coli lawsuits or claims on behalf of victims.  E. coli O157 is the most strain of E. coli that doctors and labs check for when they send a stool culture to the lab for identification of bacteria.  These medical professionals often suspect E. coli when there is significant blood in the stool.  Capias amounts of blood in the stool…

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What is Food-borne Norovirus? Food-borne Norovirus is the most common source of food borne illness, or gastroenteritis, in the U.S. Its scientific origin is the Calicivirus family, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus. Norovirus is often called the stomach flu because it quickly invades the stomach and intestinal tract and causes vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, and body aches. Outbreaks of nororirus are often called Winter Stomach Flu Outbreaks.  While we often refer to it as stomach flu, it is not related to influenza.  Influenza is also viral, but is primarily a respiratory illness. Common Sources of Norovirus Norovirus gets into a human body…

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Listeria Recall Grows Listeria Monocytogenes is the cause of yet another cheese recall, again linked to Middlebury, Indiana company Deutsch Kase Haus, LLC that serves as a supplier of cheese to many cheese manufacturers.  The company issuing the recall is Saputo Inc., a Toronto company that sells its products internationally, under such brand names as Saputo, Alexis de Portneuf, Armstrong, COON, Cracker Barrel*, Dairyland, DairyStar, Friendship Dairies, Frigo Cheese Heads, La Paulina, Milk2Go/Lait’s Go, Neilson, Nutrilait, Scotsburn*, Stella, Sungold, Treasure Cave and Woolwich Dairy.  The cheese that is the subject of the recall ws produced at the Saputo Green Bay,…

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Certain Midwestern states, such as Illinois and Missouri, are having to take Butternut Spirals down after the supplier, Austin, Texas based Veggie Noodle Company, announced a recall of 62 cases of the noodles after routine testing indicated that the product may contain Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can be life threatening, especially young children, older people, and people who are immuno-compromised.  It is also a serious threat to pregnant women because it can cause miscarriages and still births. According to Veggie Noodle Company, the product is easily identifiable in the refrigerated section of the grocery in 10.7 oz containers made of plastic and…

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Yet another recall has been announced in a wave of Listeria-prompted recalls in the new year.   The latest 2017 Listeria recall if for Ruth’s Salads products that, according to the South Carolina Agriculture Department, tested positive for Listeria.  This is the second recent recall of Ruth’s Salad products for Listeria, with the previous recall affecting production at Ruth’s Salad’s North Carolina facility in Charlotte.  The Ruth’s Salad products being recalled now are made at the company’s Chester, South Carolina facility – a facility that is now shuttered pending additional review after a thorough cleaning and sanitizing effort. Among the recalled  products…

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