According to PRNews, the food poisoning lawyers at Ron Simon and Associates filed the Nation’s First Salmonella Lawsuit Against Madre Oaxacan Restaurant on Tuesday, September 24th, in LA County. They filed the lawsuit with their local counsel, the Gomez Trial Attorneys, the premier trial law firm in Southern California. It was filed on behalf of Gary Delrosario who was one of at least 20 patrons who became ill after eating at the popular Valencia establishment.
The Madre Oaxacan Salmonella lawsuit alleges that Gary Delrosario and his family dined at Madre Oaxacan, located at 27007 McBean Parkway in Valencia, where Mr. Delrosario consumed a chicken enchilada meal. According to the lawsuit, within 48 hours began suffering from the effects of salmonellosis, including diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, and dehydration. Mr. Delrosario is alleged to have sought medical attention in Santa Clarita, where his physician ordered a stool culture that was positive for Salmonella. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LCDPH) was notified of the “reportable disease” and contacted Mr. Delrosario to confirm his salmonella illness and to establish that it was linked to the contaminated food he consumed at Madre Oaxacan restaurant. Mr. Delrosario continues to recover from his illness.
As of Tuesday, September 24th, the LCDPH has confirmed at least 20 illnesses linked to consumption of contaminated food from Madre Oaxacan restaurant.
While the investigation is ongoing, recent health inspections of the restaurant (before and immediately after the noted outbreak) reveal numerous Critical Violations and Good Practice Retail Violations, including:
- Violation: # 09. Failure to comply with proper cooling methods
- Violation: # 16. Failure to properly use and display shelf stock tags
- Violation: # 19. Failure to have a consumer advisory provided for raw or undercooked foods
- Violation: # 27. Failure to maintain food separation and protection
- Violation: # 30. Failure to properly store food
- Violation: # 33. Failure to maintain nonfood-contact surfaces clean and in good repair
- Violation: # 35. Failure to assure all equipment and utensils are sufficiently approved, installed, clean, and in good repair
- Violation: # 37. Failure to have adequate ventilation and lighting
- Violation: # 40. Failure to maintain plumbing in good repair, with proper backflow devices
Public health officials are also reported to have stated: “A look at the health code violations revealed that the restaurant’s ice machine had a buildup of mold that was actually touching some of the ice within, and that some cutting boards had left over food and mold as well.”
The restaurant is currently shut down.
According to Ron Simon, the Salmonella lawyer representing Mr. Delrosario and others sickened in this outbreak: “We will use this lawsuit to obtain just compensation for our clients, to find out what caused the food at Madre Oaxacan to become contaminated with Salmonella, and to make sure this does not happen again.”
