Settlement in Hepatitis A Class Action in North Carolina

By News Desk | October 18, 2012 Owners of a Fayetteville, NC Olive Garden are paying $375,000 in compensation to patrons who were caught up in an August 2011 hepatitis A scare at the restaurant. None of the customers got sick, but a food server infected with hepatitis A potentially exposed thousands of the Olive Garden patrons to the virus. Health officials encouraged all who may have been exposed to the virus over a two-week period to get a hepatitis A vaccination or immune globulin shot. That meant the time and inconvenience of standing in lines at public health clinics or going to a private physician. A class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Olive Garden customers. Now the lawyers representing everyone who got vaccinations or shots have reached a settlement with GMRI Inc., Olive Garden's parent company, for the establishment of a $375,000 fund that will provide payments of up to $250 to each person who received a vaccine or immune globulin. No money will go to the lawyers – Ashland-based Robert & Stevenson and Marler Clark, the food safety law firm that underwrites Food Safety News. The plaintiffs' lawyers waived their fees and costs in the case they brought against Olive Garden. In the complaint, the plaintiffs argued that Olive Garden was negligent for not requiring its employees to get vaccinations against hepatitis A, and for allowing the infected employee to continue working. GMRI settled the case without admitting any responsibility. Bill Marler, managing partner of Seattle-based Marler Clark, said the low amount of the fund prompted the plaintiff lawyers to waive their charges to make more money available to compensate those who had to get vaccines or shots. Marler's firm has often waived its charges or contributed its fees to local charities in similar cases around the country. For claim forms or more information call 800-662-5988 or write the claims administrator at the Notice Co., GMRI Hepatitis Class Action, P.O. Box 778, Hingham, MA 02043. © Food Safety News More Headlines from Lawsuits & Litigation » Tags: Hepatitis A, North Carolina, Olive Garden