Long Valley Woman Sues Panera Over E.Coli Outbreak

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A Long Valley woman is suing Panera, saying she became seriously ill after eating a salad at a chain. She is the second New Jersey woman to sue Panera Bread after allegedly getting sick during a nationwide E. coli outbreak.

Robin Hall of Long Valley says she bought salads from the Mount Olive location on March 22 and March 27, 2018. She was hospitalized between March 29 and April 8 after she became "violently ill" with "a disease that was caused by contaminated food." Although the diagnosis is not specified, a nationwide E. coli outbreak attributed to romaine lettuce happened during that time.

Panera Bread did not immediately return Patch's request for comment.

Hall's lawsuit alleges that the company was in violation of the Products Liability Act of New Jersey by serving food they knew was unsafe. JAB Holding Company, ten John Does, and ten Jane Roe Corporations are named as defendants in the suit.

The suit was filed on July 13 in Morris County Superior Court, three months after a Flemington woman filed suit against Panera Bread. Louise Fraser said she got sick with E. coli after eating at the Raritan location around March 20.

Over 200 people in 36 states became sick during the nationwide E. coli outbreak. Of those infected, 96 were hospitalized and five died. Seven in New Jersey were affected.

Chopped romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Ariz. region was identified as the likely source of the outbreak, the CDC said at the time. Fraser's lawsuit alleged that Panera used lettuce grown in the region during the outbreak.

As of June 28, the outbreak is over, the CDC said.

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