13 get E.Coli in Lk Stevens

[3788sam]

Mike didn't you guys go out to Ixtapa last week?:shock:

[SomeSailor]

Mike didn't you guys go out to Ixtapa last week?:shock:

Not me man... We only go to La Hacienda. Was weird seeing ours on the news though.

[3788sam]

I got the "breaking news" in email but they didn't say what restaurant.
Watched the news last night and wouldn't guest that it was the Ixtapa!

[SomeSailor]

YEah... we saw it on the news, but I was not paying attention. Somebody must've not washed their hands. Holy cow that's gotta kill your business. :(

Hell... they're suing people already:

LAWSUIT FILED IN LAKE STEVENS E. COLI POISONING (http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081022/NEWS01/810229970&news01ad=1#Lawsuit.filed.in.E..coli.outbreak.tied. to.Lake.Stevens.restaurant)

[Go Aweigh2452]

e-coli is what almost did me in... so much for mex food... :eek:

[Play N Hookie Admiral]

But what is the point of suing them? Unless they didnt have health insurance (which they should have!) there is nothing to sue over here. Crazyness. :evil: With how fast that was filed it makes me wonder if that attorney wasent already hanging at the hospital just waiting.

This is why those of us with insurance have to pay so darn much. :roll:

[Play N Hookie II]

Hope you aren't their carrier Ken:?:

[3788sam]

Couldn't agree more. If the family is just trying to collect un-reimbursable expenses, pain and suffering. I'm sure the insurance will pay out with no problem.(As long as it can be proven that Ixtapa was a fault and not one of their distributers)

But with Lawyer involved at such an early stage I'm sure they all are seeing $$$.(E-Coli is the new mold claim)
Heck much of these guys only have 1 to 2 million dollar policies anyways. If the jugment is more than that, that's the end of their business.

[Play N Hookie II]

that's the end of their business.



Or at least this particular corp.

[3788sam]

Hope you aren't their carrier Ken

Nope, I decline to write policies where alcohol is served. To big a risk for a large claim that would wipe out my bonus.
Seen it happen a few times to other agents. Big prem. but big risk as well!

[Play N Hookie II]

Nope, I decline to write policies where alcohol is served. To big a risk for a large claim that would wipe out my bonus.
Seen it happen a few times to other agents. Big prem. but big risk as well!

I don't blame you at all!

[Randygh]

The plaintiffs and their attorney are looking for an easy settlement, unless the Mexican joint insurance attorneys say "prove it." If I remember correctly in civil litigation the plaintiff does not have to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" as in a criminal court, but rather the jury or bench can find guilt if a "preponderance of evidence" suggests the defendant is guilty. The plaintiff attorney will probably get 30-50% of the settlement and if the greasy spoon's insurance carrier says settle out of court for $100,000, the attorney and plaintiff will make a quick 50k. Also, aren't litigation awards not federally taxed? There are few things that PMO more than the sleazy attorney advertisements on TV that say, "if you've been harmed you DESERVE cash . . . . . . call 1-CROOK-ATTNY.

If one of my kid's picked up E. coli due to improper food handling, or a food handler not properly washing their hands, I'd be really p****ed. I agree with Kristin, the plaintiff's attorney had all the paperwork ready to immediately file the suit once there was lab confirmation of the diarrhea's etiology. I bet the case is settled out of court or goes to court as a class action suit.

[Play N Hookie II]

The plaintiffs and their attorney are looking for an easy settlement, unless the Mexican joint insurance attorneys say "prove it." If I remember correctly in civil litigation the plaintiff does not have to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" as in a criminal court, but rather the jury or bench can find guilt if a "preponderance of evidence" suggests the defendant is guilty. The plaintiff attorney will probably get 30-50% of the settlement and if the greasy spoon's insurance carrier says settle out of court for $100,000, the attorney and plaintiff will make a quick 50k. Also, aren't litigation awards not federally taxed? There are few things that PMO more than the sleazy attorney advertisements on TV that say, "if you've been harmed you DESERVE cash . . . . . . call 1-CROOK-ATTNY.

If one of my kid's picked up E. coli due to improper food handling, or a food handler not properly washing their hands, I'd be really p****ed. I agree with Kristin, the plaintiff's attorney had all the paperwork ready to immediately file the suit once there was lab confirmation of the diarrhea's etiology. I bet the case is settled out of court or goes to court as a class action suit.

The reality is likely that the restaurant has $1 million in coverage...divide in half for the attorney (33% plus fees) then divide that by 13 litigants and you have $38k (and change). Then here comes the health insurance company (or the hospital if they do not ave coverage) and likely all or most of that $38k goes to them for doctors bills. It doesn't take alot to get their in medical bills (Doug could probably concur) for this sort of thing. So lawyer gets a half mill and the damaged party gets some of their bills paid. I haven't read the whole story. I just hope everyone is ok. In my business we get to see bad things happen to good people and it really makes you understand what is truly important in this world. I do hope they all fully recover.

[Go Aweigh2452]

likely all or most of that $38k goes to them for doctors bills. It doesn't take alot to get their in medical bills (Doug could probably concur) for this sort of thing.

My insurance covers 100%.

[SomeSailor]

Yeah... Doug and I have a pretty decent health insurance coverage package. :D

[Play N Hookie Admiral]

Nope, I decline to write policies where alcohol is served. To big a risk for a large claim that would wipe out my bonus.
Seen it happen a few times to other agents. Big prem. but big risk as well!

That is the scary part of being an agent for sure. Someone told us through the grape vine that a rat fell from the roof tiles of one of the resturants we insure. :roll: Ohmy. At least that is not gonna kill ya.

[Play N Hookie II]

My insurance covers 100%.

I knew that I was just thinking that you may have seen some of the bills. I broke a wrist a couple years back that required surgery and that cost $48k.

[Play N Hookie Admiral]

I knew that I was just thinking that you may have seen some of the bills. I broke a wrist a couple years back that required surgery and that cost $48k.

We have great heath insurance as well (go figure ;) ) and we only saw the bills on their way to the insurance company....but I know for sure that part of that 48k went to pay for the guy with the same broken wrist who didnt pay anything.

What ever happened to "you get what you pay for"? :roll:

[3788sam]

Someone told us through the grape vine that a rat fell from the roof tiles of one of the resturants we insure.

I used to have a distributing co. as a client.(No longer in business) They had 15 trucks but for some reason when they hired drivers they wouldn't require a MVR transcript (told them over and over to run criminal and MVR records before hiring). So they would call to add a driver, we would run the MVR and some of them would come back with 3 of 4 tickets. So you can imagine what it was doing to their Prem.:shock:
They decided to go to Safeco. 3 months later they called back and wanted me to rewrite them. Found out that a couple of the drivers stole their trucks full of merchandise and Safeco was going to drop them.

[Play N Hookie Admiral]

I used to have a distributing co. as a client.(No longer in business) They had 15 trucks but for some reason when they hired drivers they wouldn't require a MVR transcript (told them over and over to run criminal and MVR records before hiring). So they would call to add a driver, we would run the MVR and some of them would come back with 3 of 4 tickets. So you can imagine what it was doing to their Prem.:shock:
They decided to go to Safeco. 3 months later they called back and wanted me to rewrite them. Found out that a couple of the drivers stole their trucks full of merchandise and Safeco was going to drop them.

I guess thats the nice thing about being a "field underwriter", right? Sometimes you just need to go with your gut. :argh2

[Play N Hookie II]

I used to have a distributing co. as a client.(No longer in business) They had 15 trucks but for some reason when they hired drivers they wouldn't require a MVR transcript (told them over and over to run criminal and MVR records before hiring). So they would call to add a driver, we would run the MVR and some of them would come back with 3 of 4 tickets. So you can imagine what it was doing to their Prem.:shock:
They decided to go to Safeco. 3 months later they called back and wanted me to rewrite them. Found out that a couple of the drivers stole their trucks full of merchandise and Safeco was going to drop them.

Lessons learned the hard way. I run into that with clients too and it amazes me that they would hire drivers of 26,000 lbs of truck and cargo that they are liable for who have accidents dui's etc. I tell them to require each applicant to bring it to the interview. It tells you alot about that person if they are willing to spend the $5 and sit in line at the DMV. I can order it in two seconds but it shows good effort to have them bring it in.

[Fanaddicts]

Just heard on the news that the restaurant has scrubbed, and rubbed.. thrown out all the food and reopened. (wonder if they remembered to wash their hands?) UCK!

[SomeSailor]

Yeah. They're really nice people and the place is really clean. It could have been from something that came in like lettuce or something too. From my observations of the place, I noticed nothing that would keep me from eating there again.

[Chass]

Thats the unfortunate thing about all this. It could have been the cleanest restaurant in the world and if they bought some bad spinich, 13 people got sick!

On the other hand, if a restaurant has this problem more than once its a different story. Particularly if no other restaurants in town are having that trouble with the same suppliers.

About 15 years ago Grants Pass, OR had an ecoli outbreak that was tracked back to Taco Bell. They put cameras in the two Taco Bells in town. Turned out that one guy pooped on a wrapper and put it in the beans at one location and another guy peed in the beans at the other. ON THE SAME NIGHT! Those kids both got prosecuted and were convicted of multiple crimes.

Anyway, since then, I've always treated my servers with respect. I realized that the people serving me could do all kinds of horrible things to my food if they so chose. The more unhappy they are, the more likely you are to get a big nasty something in your burger and never even know it.

Food for thought . . .

Chass
ct

[Play N Hookie II]

Thats the unfortunate thing about all this. It could have been the cleanest restaurant in the world and if they bought some bad spinich, 13 people got sick!

On the other hand, if a restaurant has this problem more than once its a different story. Particularly if no other restaurants in town are having that trouble with the same suppliers.

About 15 years ago Grants Pass, OR had an ecoli outbreak that was tracked back to Taco Bell. They put cameras in the two Taco Bells in town. Turned out that one guy pooped on a wrapper and put it in the beans at one location and another guy peed in the beans at the other. ON THE SAME NIGHT! Those kids both got prosecuted and were convicted of multiple crimes.

Anyway, since then, I've always treated my servers with respect. I realized that the people serving me could do all kinds of horrible things to my food if they so chose. The more unhappy they are, the more likely you are to get a big nasty something in your burger and never even know it.

Food for thought . . .

Chass
ct

I am never eating anything again!! I don't eat at Taco Bell anyway but....poop?

[Fanaddicts]

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr265/hawaiicelebs2/toilet.jpg