After the two lawsuits against McDonald's were filed, I chased down plaintiff attorney Bill Marler whose firm specializes in food-borne diseases. Marler is also handling this litigation regarding an outbreak of Hepatitis A. One of the suits could gain class-action status.
This too-familiar situation in the fast-food business costs the company plenty. Customers stop coming, often developing new eating habits and therefore not returning. The brandname is hammered. Even after the problem is addressed and fixed a cloud hangs over the chain. And, there are, of course, the lawsuits, with their ongoing tale of human suffering. Hepatitis A makes people very sick. In rare cases it can damage the liver. The outbreak has been traced back to one or more food workers.
So, I asked Marler: How can the fast-food industry prevent this.
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Plaintiff Attorney Bill Marler, on-the-record:
"Fast-food chains, in fact all establishments which serve food, should mandate that their workers receive a Hep A shot. You might view this as 'cheap insurance' for preventing sickness and death among customers and lawsuits for the organization.
"Jane, the tragedy here is that I have been advocating vaccinating food-service workers for years. Yes, it may cost $50 per worker. But in the long run, it saves money - and lives."
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You can continue to follow the Mickey D Hep A story on Bill Marler's blog. Here is testimony he delivered before Congress on making the food supply safe Download TestimonyEnergy Download Testimonywaxmanfoodsafety. The system HAD BEEN safe after the reforms put in-place after the Jack-in-the-Box E-Coli crisis in the early 1990s.