A Minnesota woman says a Chipotle burrito bowl caused a Salmonella infection that led to sepsis. The CDC has tied the outbreak to jalapeño peppers.
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Chipotle Mexican Grill faces a lawsuit from a Minnesota woman who says a chicken burrito bowl from a Roseville location gave her a Salmonella infection that escalated into sepsis and a hospital stay.
Kristen Behne filed the complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, accusing Chipotle of strict product liability, negligence and violations of Minnesota food-safety law. She is seeking more than $75,000 in compensatory damages.
According to the lawsuit, Behne ate the burrito bowl on June 24. It included guacamole, Fresh Tomato Salsa and Roasted Chili-Corn Salsa, all of which the complaint claims contained raw jalapeño peppers.
Days later, Behne developed fever, chills, vomiting, abdominal cramping and severe diarrhea, the complaint alleges. She sought emergency care, was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with sepsis.
"Three days later she was in a hospital bed, febrile, tachycardic and septic – a life-threatening complication of the Salmonella infection caused by Chipotle's grossly contaminated food," the lawsuit alleges. "She has not been the same since."
The Minnesota Department of Health classified Behne as a confirmed case in a multistate outbreak that has sickened at least 345 people, the suit says. The complaint identifies the strain as Salmonella Javiana.
Behne continues to experience effects from the illness, according to court documents.
"Plaintiff's health has not returned to its pre-illness baseline," the filing says. "She continues to experience the effects of her acute Salmonella infection and her septic episode, and is at increased risk of well-recognized post-infectious sequelae, including reactive arthritis and post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome."
The legal action comes as health officials investigate a multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeño peppers. Chipotle said Tuesday it had removed jalapeños from some restaurants after health officials tied the outbreak to recalled peppers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that 345 people in 27 states had been sickened, including 36 hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
Epidemiologic and trace back evidence identified jalapeño peppers grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors as the outbreak source, the CDC said.
The CDC said Chipotle and QDOBA stopped serving the affected peppers after being notified. Because the products were removed, the CDC and FDA said they do not consider the restaurants to pose a current ongoing risk to consumers from this outbreak.
Chipotle and an attorney for Behne could not immediately be reached for comment.
For context on how food-safety incidents and litigation have historically weighed on restaurant chains, see stock market analysis.
Chipotle's Alpha Score sits at 36/100, a Mixed label, within the Consumer Discretionary sector. More detail is on the CMG stock page.
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