Marler Clark
SEATTLE — Marler Clark filed a Salmonella lawsuit against Papa Murphy's on Aug. 18 representing Michael Williams and Renee Sanders, who were victims of an outbreak linked to chocolate chip cookie and s'mores bar dough.
The CDC reported that the outbreak sickened 26 people in six states: California (two), Idaho (five), Missouri (one), Oregon (eight), Utah (four) and Washington (six). Illnesses began on dates ranging from Feb. 24 to May 28.
In response to the investigation, Papa Murphy's notified franchise owners nationwide and stopped selling all chocolate chip cookie dough and s'mores bars dough at all stores.
In March 2023, Michael Williams and Renne Sanders visited the Papa Murphy's restaurant in Lebanon, Ore., purchasing one pizza and a package of Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake raw chocolate chip cookie dough. They shared the pizza at a family gathering and stored the cookie dough. Two weeks later, they began to eat the raw dough. Days later, Williams and Sanders both experienced symptoms that included fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Although Sanders recovered after several days of rest, Williams’ symptoms persisted and worsened until he could not walk properly and was limping. Williams decided to seek medical attention and visited PeaceHealth Urgent Care located in Vancouver, Wash., where doctors told him he likely had an infection and urged him to go to the emergency room immediately. At the ER, testing confirmed that he had a Salmonella infection that likely developed into sepsis, with the bacteria settling into his hip and impairing his ability to walk.
The Washington Department of Health used whole genome sequencing, which revealed that Williams’ case was highly related to isolates known to be part of the Papa Murphy's outbreak. Williams is still suffering from pain, and his doctors have informed him that a hip replacement may be necessary.
“The severity of Michael's injury underscores the fact that Salmonella sickens over 1.4 million Americans every year,” said attorney William Marler. “The food industry must do more to drive these numbers down.”