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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Lawsuit filed over E. coli outbreak at Folklorama pavilion
Most people who became ill during the outbreak had eaten at the Russian pavilion. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store
One of the individuals hospitalized following an E. coli outbreak at Folklorama two years ago is suing the organization and the Russian Pavilion.
Trudy Andrew, 52, of Oakbank, is seeking damages for lost wages and pain and suffering she suffered after eating contaminated food at the Russian Pavilion.
"If I hadn’t gone to the hospital when I did, I wouldn’t have made it," Andrew told the Free Press. "I ended up seriously ill and in hospital."
Andrew is suing Folklorama Inc., the Folk Arts Council of Winnipeg Inc., the umbrella organization that oversees the popular two-week Folklorama festival, and the Russian Pavilion, which health authorities identified as the source of the outbreak.
There were 40 reported cases of E. coli between August 9 and August 30, 2010; 34 of those cases were individuals who ate at the Russian Pavilion, and three others were children at a daycare who were infected by a person who visited the pavilion and spread the germ.
Seventeen people went to emergency and five individuals were hospitalized, including a two-year-old boy who suffered acute renal failure and was put on dialysis in pediatric intensive care.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority has concluded that a locally made juice, known as kompot, was the source of the outbreak, speculating that the juice somehow had come into contact with contaminated ground beef.
Health inspectors had found deficiencies in the pavilion’s kitchen on August 1, the first day the venue opened, including improperly stored raw hamburger meat, and a fridge with an operating temperature that was deemed too high.
Statements of defence have not been filed. Spokeswomen for Folklorama and the Russian Pavilion said they were not aware of the lawsuit.
In the statement of claim filed in Queen’s Bench, Andrew states that she and her adult son visited the Russian Pavilion on August 3, 2010, when most of the others were also infected.
Andrew said her son had a minor reaction but did not require hospitalization.
She said she was hospitalized for eight days and her suffering included severe damage to her intestinal tract, high blood pressure, and high fever.
Andrew, who is a self-employed trucker and novelist, states she has not been able to work as a result of the infection, and that she continues to suffer.
Andrew told the Free Press that she had driven gravel trucks locally since the age of 18 but following her release from hospital she’s been unable to drive.
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