Marler Clark has settled a lawsuit on behalf of the family of a Madison County boy whose E. coli illness led to a 1998 recall of hamburger sent to schools, military posts and prisons in the South has settled with the insurer of the Bauer Meat Co. of Florida for an undisclosed amount.
The money will be held in trust for any future medical needs of Stephen, now 13.
In April 1998, the then-fifth-grader was hospitalized and needed several blood transfusions from a disease triggered by E. coli-contaminated food.
After several other children at Danielsville Elementary School complained of diarrhea and stomach distress, an investigation found that hamburger served in the school cafeteria was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a lethal strain of the bacteria that can cause illness and even death.
The meat was supplied by Bauer Meat Co. in Ocala, Fla.The company has since declared bankruptcy.
Federal food safety inspections led to a recall of 38,000 pounds of Bauer hamburger that had been sold to numerous government institutions in Georgia and North Carolina.
