California Injury Blog

Two elementary school girls – ages 7 and 9 – in Carmel Creek, San Diego, have been sickened with an E. Coli infection, San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency officials said. According to this news report, the girls have been hospitalized, but are expected to recover. Officials are still trying to determine the source of the E. Coli bacteria. Carmel Creek School, where the girls attended, notified parents about the infection on October 29, 2008 as a precaution.

The school’s principal says the school was certainly not a source, but Health and Human Services officials have not confirmed that yet. E. Coli can come from a number of sources including lettuce, raw milk, unpasteurized apple cider, hamburgers that are not cooked properly or from petting zoos or animal exhibits, according to county health officials.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control information states that the most common symptoms of E. Coli infections include stomach cramps and diarrhea. In rare cases, there have been fatalities, but usually an E. Coli infection lasts about a week. These infections mostly affect young children, the elderly or those with weak immune systems. Others in the area who have been affected by an E. Coli infection are asked to report it right away to the County of San Diego Health and Human Services at 619-515-6620.
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An appellate court has upheld a $3.2 million jury verdict awarded to 25-year-old Alexis Sarti of Costa Mesa, who suffered permanent nerve damage after eating bacteria-contaminated raw tuna at the Salt Creek Grille in Dana Point. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, the food poisoning occurred on April 7, 2005. Sarti spent 45 days in the hospital because of the food-borne illness, which stemmed from a cross contamination of her raw tuna with bacteria found in raw poultry.

This 4/7/05 food-poisoning incident apparently had devastating effects on Alexis Sarti. It caused her entire respiratory system to shut down. Sarti became violently ill after eating the contaminated tuna that caused her nervous system to shut down. She experienced double vision and paralysis from head to toe immediately afterwards.

She had to use a walker for eight months after that incident and even now, she has only 40 percent of what would have been her normal endurance. The food poisoning episode had drastic effects on her everyday life as well. A cross country runner at high school, Sarti had to drop out of Saddleback College to endure medical treatment and therapy for a year and a half. More than three years after the incident, she still has muscle spasms and cramps everyday. The contaminated ahi tuna appetizer she ate that day left Alexis Sarti disabled for the rest of her life.
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