The most recent lawsuit was filed by Robert Daly, a man from Virginia who was infected with hepatitis A. He is seeking $300,000 in compensation for his medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and more.
Daly had several smoothies at Tropical Smoothie Café in July and August, and soon developed symptoms of hepatitis A — fever, nausea, and body aches.
After seeking medical attention, he was initially sent home, but returned when his condition worsened. Blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes and he tested positive for hepatitis A.
Daly was hospitalized for three days at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center. He continues to suffer from symptoms of the infection, which is not unusual. Liver inflammation normally lasts for several months and about 10% of people have symptoms for 6 months.
The lawsuit was filed on September 20, 2016 in Prince William County Circuit Court — In Re: Robert Daly v. Commercial Concepts & Development LLC d/b/a Tropical Smoothie Cafe — Case No. CL16007618-00.
Tropical Smoothie Café is facing a number of individual lawsuits. The first lawsuit was filed by a man from Maryland who was hospitalized for four days. He is seeking $100,000 in compensation. Earlier this month, another lawsuit was filed by a group of seven people.
On August 25, a class action lawsuit was filed by a woman who was exposed but not actually infected with hepatitis A. Her lawyers are seeking compensation for everyone who ate at Tropical Smoothie Café during the exposure period and got vaccine.
Yesterday, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed 102 cases of hepatitis A in residents who ate at Tropical Smoothie Café between May and August 9, when the company stopped using frozen strawberries imported from Egypt.
Other cases have been reported in Arkansas (1), Maryland (12), New York (3), North Carolina (1), Oregon (1), West Virginia (6), and Wisconsin (1).
The public was not made aware of the outbreak until August 19, more than two weeks after the health department notified Tropical Smoothie Café of the outbreak. The delay has been criticized because infections can be prevented if a vaccine is given within two weeks of exposure.
Source: PR Newswire