ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — An E. coli outbreak that sickened Rockwood Summit High School students has now risen to 94 cases and is linked to five events hosted by the same catering company last week, health officials said.
Three parents of high school students are suing the catering company.
Bill Marler, a food safety lawyer for Marler Clark, has handled thousands of E. coli cases like this one for the past 30 years.
Marler on Monday filed the first lawsuit against Andre's Banquets and Catering with a woman who said her daughter got an E. coli infection after eating at a catered event for the Rockwood School District.
"E. Coli is transmittable between people. So, if you have a loved one you're caring for, be very careful to wash your hands and clean up with bleach, because 50 of these bacteria are enough to kill you," Marler said.
He filed a second lawsuit on Tuesday with another mom, Kristiana Carnaghi, who said her 15-year-old son Austin was hospitalized for days after eating at Andre's for an Oakville School band banquet on Nov. 6.
"We're blessed, and we're lucky that he's alive and recovering. But this is bad," Carnaghi said.
Jory Lange, a lawyer specializing in food poisoning cases, filed the third lawsuit against the catering company in partnership with the Simon Law Firm.
"The scary thing about this E. coli outbreak is, as a consumer, there's nothing you can do to tell whether the food that you are buying is safe," Lange said, adding more E. coli lawsuits are likely to follow. "You can't taste, smell, or see E. coli. Food that is contaminated with E. coli may look, smell, and taste just like any other food. This is why it's critical that caterers who make and sell our food, ensure the food is safe before they sell it."
The events under investigation by the St. Louis County Health Department include two school band events, two funerals and a veterans event, all catered by Andre's between Nov. 6-9. More than half of the cases are connected with Rockwood Summit.
On Tuesday, the health department said during all five events, people who got sick had eaten salad provided by the catering company.
State health workers removed salad from Andre's South, the company's venue on Telegraph Road, on Monday. Test results were expected by the end of the week.
Andre's owner John Armengol Jr. has remained adamant that the catering business was not the source of the outbreak, and the health department said the business is cooperating with the investigation.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Armengol said all of his employees have been tested and cleared of E. coli. Armengol said he would provide a statement after the lettuce results come back.
"If the owner says, 'I'm not responsible,' and he continues to believe that, and everything points to there, then that's extremely sad because more people will get sick until you know why they're getting sick," Carnaghi said.
Marler said more than a dozen families have contacted his law firm, all of whom are upset about Andre's owner continuing to deny his business is the source.
"This wasn't caused by some students being sick. This outbreak wasn't caused by that. This outbreak wasn't the fault of the school district. This is a problem with a contaminated product that came from this caterer. And the evidence is overwhelming that that's the case," said Marler.
The health department planned to provide an update on the number of cases on Wednesday.
The health department stressed that anyone who believed they were infected with E. coli should call their health care provider immediately or call the health department at 314-615-1630.