Vancouver supermarket faces class action lawsuit after hepatitis A outbreak

[Guest guest]

October 24, 2002

Vancouver supermarket faces class action lawsuit after hepatitis A outbreak

VANCOUVER (CP) -- A Vancouver supermarket was hit with a class action

lawsuit Thursday after several people who ate food from there contracted

hepatitis A earlier this year.

The lawsuit, which is yet to be certified as a class action, was launched

on behalf of Helen Fakhri, one of seven people who became ill with the

potentially deadly viral disease.

The claim alleges that two Capers employees did not handle food properly,

said Klein, Fakhri's lawyer.

" There were salad dressings and sauces that apparently were contaminated

with Hep A, " Klein said.

Baked goods were also not handled with tongs, he said.

The problem arose after a Capers employee was diagnosed March 23 with

hepatitis A. The store pulled potentially contaminated products later the

same day.

About 6,400 people who bought food at Capers in February and March were

vaccinated against the illness.

Klein said many of them have contacted his firm.

Sonja Tuitele, a Denver-based spokeswoman for Wild Oats Markets Inc., which

owns Capers, said the store hasn't yet been served with a formal complaint.

" Until we are actually served with a lawsuit and a formal complaint's been

filed, we don't know how far this is going to go or if this is something we

are going to be affected by, " Tuitele said.

" We actually have been quite generous in paying medical fees and lost wages

.... so eight months after the initial incident it comes as a bit of a

surprise. "

Capers has also taken precautions to prevent another hepatitis A outbreak,

she said.

" Immediately following the situation we mandated that all food handlers

receive a Hep A vaccine prior to employment with us, and that's something

that we've implemented across our entire chain. "

Wild Oats owns 99 stores in the United States, including three in the

Vancouver area.

Hepatitis A can be deadly for the elderly or those with chronic liver

disease.

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, abdominal pain,

dark-coloured urine, light or whitish-coloured bowel movements and jaundice

or yellow colour to the skin and eyes.

In most people, the illness lasts only a few weeks and they recover

completely.

Klein said Fakhri is doing well.

http://www.canoe.ca/WesternTicker/CANOE-wire.Capers-Lawsuit.html

[Guest guest]

October 24, 2002

Vancouver supermarket faces class action lawsuit after hepatitis A outbreak

VANCOUVER (CP) -- A Vancouver supermarket was hit with a class action

lawsuit Thursday after several people who ate food from there contracted

hepatitis A earlier this year.

The lawsuit, which is yet to be certified as a class action, was launched

on behalf of Helen Fakhri, one of seven people who became ill with the

potentially deadly viral disease.

The claim alleges that two Capers employees did not handle food properly,

said Klein, Fakhri's lawyer.

" There were salad dressings and sauces that apparently were contaminated

with Hep A, " Klein said.

Baked goods were also not handled with tongs, he said.

The problem arose after a Capers employee was diagnosed March 23 with

hepatitis A. The store pulled potentially contaminated products later the

same day.

About 6,400 people who bought food at Capers in February and March were

vaccinated against the illness.

Klein said many of them have contacted his firm.

Sonja Tuitele, a Denver-based spokeswoman for Wild Oats Markets Inc., which

owns Capers, said the store hasn't yet been served with a formal complaint.

" Until we are actually served with a lawsuit and a formal complaint's been

filed, we don't know how far this is going to go or if this is something we

are going to be affected by, " Tuitele said.

" We actually have been quite generous in paying medical fees and lost wages

.... so eight months after the initial incident it comes as a bit of a

surprise. "

Capers has also taken precautions to prevent another hepatitis A outbreak,

she said.

" Immediately following the situation we mandated that all food handlers

receive a Hep A vaccine prior to employment with us, and that's something

that we've implemented across our entire chain. "

Wild Oats owns 99 stores in the United States, including three in the

Vancouver area.

Hepatitis A can be deadly for the elderly or those with chronic liver

disease.

Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, fever, abdominal pain,

dark-coloured urine, light or whitish-coloured bowel movements and jaundice

or yellow colour to the skin and eyes.

In most people, the illness lasts only a few weeks and they recover

completely.

Klein said Fakhri is doing well.

http://www.canoe.ca/WesternTicker/CANOE-wire.Capers-Lawsuit.html