A food poisoning lawsuit was filed yesterday against Di Nolfo’s Banquet Inn and Catering Service after a wedding guest fell seriously ill from contaminated food. Food safety law firm Marler Clark and Newland, Newland and Newland of Arlington Heights filed the lawsuit on behalf of Griffith, Indiana resident Anita Fowler in a Will County Court.

Ms. Fowler attended a wedding reception at the Di Nolfo facility at 9425 W. 191 Street in Mokena, IL on July 17. The next day she began to experience food poisoning symptoms including abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and chills. When her symptoms worsened over the next several days, she had to seek medical attention for severe dehydration and other medical problems resulting from her infection. She continues to recover from her illness.

Food poisoning outbreaks sourced from small restaurants, caterers, and home-prepared foods have been underreported for many years. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a study that documented 7,921 outbreaks involving food prepared in a restaurant/deli (101,907 illnesses, 3,309 hospitalizations, and 4 deaths) as well as 833 outbreaks involving food prepared by a caterer (29,738 illnesses, 345 hospitalizations, and 4 deaths). Food prepared in a private home was responsible for 1,546 reported outbreaks (22,600 illnesses, 1395 hospitalizations, 21 deaths).