Thousands of customers at a Houlihan’s restaurant in Kane County, Illinois, were potentially exposed to the hepatitis A virus when they drank iced beverages at the restaurant between January 8 and January 19, 2007. Marler Clark has been contacted by approximately 50 individuals who have asked to become part of a class action lawsuit against Houlihan’s filed by the law firm last week.
An article in the Daily Herald covered the lawsuit:
"These cases are not about humungus sums of money, but they are about the fact that it’s not right to take your problem of sick workers and push it onto other people’s laps," said Dave Babcock, an attorney with Marler Clark. "This is something that is really, really avoidable."
The law firm has handled several hepatitis A cases in other states, as well as the salmonella outbreak at a Lake County Chili’s restaurant two years ago.
Babcock said restaurants could eliminate the risk of hepatitis A if they required immunizations for their employees, made paid sick leave available and trained management to look for signs of the sickness.