REDFORD (WWJ) - A woman who spent 12 days in the hospital fighting E. coli is suing Wendy's after she claims a burger at their Farmington location made her severely ill.
Ebone Colbert told WXYZ she began to experience alarming symptoms a few days after eating a single cheeseburger from the fast food chain on July 27.
Her sickness was so severe, she was hospitalized for almost two weeks.
Tests showed Colbert was positive for a specific strain of bacteria linked to a nationwide outbreak that has sickened almost 100 people in multiple states – the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 53 cases are from Michigan alone.
"I did get a call from the state of Michigan health department. They told me it was E. coli and they didn't know where it came from," she told WXYZ.
Colbert said her trouble started Tuesday morning when she began to have bloody diarrhea – she contacted her doctor who advised her to go to the emergency room.
At the ER, she collapsed.
"When they said I was going to be there for a while, I kind of went into a depression because I'm like, I don't know what's wrong with me," Colbert said.
Her eventual E. coli diagnosis was made worse when she developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a rare but serious disease that the National Kidney Foundation says affects the blood and blood vessels, often resulting in the destruction of blood platelets, anemia and kidney failure.
On top of HUS, Colbert said she also suffers from Crohn's disease, an auto immune disorder that causes chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
"The doctor told me if I had tried to fight this off at home, I could have died actually," Colbert said.
She is not currently able to work.
While the exact source of the E. coli outbreak remains unknown, many people in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania reported eating burgers and sandwiches with romaine lettuce at Wendy's restaurants before getting sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Wendy's released a statement saying it is cooperating with the CDC and the ongoing investigation.
"While the CDC has not yet confirmed a specific food as the source of that outbreak, we have taken the precaution of removing the sandwich lettuce at some restaurants in that region. The lettuce that we use in our salads is different, and is not affected by this action. As a company, we are committed to upholding our high standards of food safety and quality."
Colbert is one of two Michiganders who have filed lawsuits against Wendy's and their lettuce supplier, John Doe Corporation, over E. coli infections.
Colbert joins over 30 plaintiffs in other states who are represented by Marler Clark, a law firm specializing in food and safety.
"This has cost me and my family time and money, so I want to recoup what I lost," Colbert told WXYZ.
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