Florida Strawberry Festival Settles With Victims Of E. Coli Outbreak

By RAY REYES The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 18, 2007

PLANT CITY - Two victims of an E. coli outbreak traced to a petting zoo at the 2005 Florida Strawberry Festival have reached out-of-court settlements with the organization that runs one of Plant City's most popular and well-attended annual events.

Diana Walters, 48, of St. Petersburg, and Jenna Gauci, a student at Citrus Park Christian School who was 5 years old at the time of the outbreak, suffered hemolytic uremic syndrome after contracting a virulent strain of E. coli at the festival, their attorney Bill Marler said. The terms of the settlement were confidential.

"These were significant injuries," Marler said. "Our clients and their families are happy to have this litigation behind them."

Florida Strawberry Festival officials deferred comment to their legal counsel, Plant City lawyer Danny Coton, who couldn't be reached.

Walters and Gauci required extensive medical treatment, including dialysis, said Marler, the managing partner of Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm that has represented hundreds of E. coli outbreak victims in similar lawsuits.

The woman's and girl's medical bills were more than $250,000 each, Marler said.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a life-threatening complication of E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium commonly found in animal intestines. Symptoms in humans include bleeding from the nose and mouth, bloody diarrhea or urine, and intense abdominal pain. In severe cases, kidney failure occurs.

Health officials traced the 2005 E. coli outbreak to a petting zoo owned by Plant City-based Ag-Venture Farms, which had brought more than a dozen goats, sheep, cows and chickens to the Florida Strawberry Festival, the Florida State Fair in Tampa and the Central Florida Fair in Orlando.

About 50 people from six counties were sickened at the three events, and 15 filed lawsuits against the petting zoo, Marler said. Those claims were resolved last year when the 15 victims shared a $1 million settlement from an insurance company representing the petting zoo, Marler said.

Petting zoos have not been featured at the Florida Strawberry Festival since the E. coli outbreak two years ago.

The settlement announced Thursday involves lawsuits filed against the strawberry festival. Other suits are pending against the state fair and Central Florida Fair, Marler said.

Reporter Dave Nicholson contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.