Montana woman sues McDonald’s for illness caused by E. coli.

BILLINGS, Montana (The Daily Montanan) — A Billings woman has filed a suit in district court against a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant that she said sickened her by selling a quarter-pound hamburger that contained the toxin E.coli, according to court documents.

The woman is just one of 90 people across mostly the Rocky Mountain West, including 17 in Montana, who have been sickened by the outbreak, which has been linked to yellow onions used in the hamburgers.

The McDonald’s location sits several hundred feet away from Interstate 90 on Southgate Road and is operated by the franchisee Pasha Enterprises. The lawsuit, filed in Yellowstone County District Court, alleges that the fast-food giant sold tainted food and improperly oversaw training and cooking which led to Candida R. Craft going to the hospital after her illness turned to bloody diarrhea and abdominal distress.

One dead in multistate E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, CDC says

Doctors determined her illness was related to the E. coli outbreak.

E. coli is both a common bacteria and has many different variants and strains. Doctors can determine a DNA fingerprint, so to speak, to identify which type it is, and where it likely originated. This particular strain identified in the outbreak linked to McDonald’s franchises is E.coli O157:H7 and has been confirmed in 13 states. The bacteria causes dangerous effects in humans once it gets into the digestive system by obliterating red blood cells, and releasing iron which helps support the E.coli bacteria.

This particular outbreak has been traced to yellow onions used in the quarter-pound hamburgers, but previous outbreaks of the same type of E. Coli have included unpasteurized juices, yogurt, dried salami, mayonnaise, raw milk, game meat and raw cookie dough. This particular strain of E.coli is more resistant to heat and freezing, and can grow at temperatures above 111 degrees, according to the lawsuit, making it harder to eradicate than other types of food borne illness.

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Montana cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that illness outbreak has affected 13 different states, mostly in the Rocky Mountain West. Montana has 17 confirmed cases, the second most behind Colorado, which has reported 29.

In total, the CDC reports that 90 people have been confirmed sickened, 27 were hospitalized, and one person died.

Casey Page, the communications director for RiverStone Health, the county health department in Montana’s largest population center, said that nine of those cases are from Yellowstone County.

Since 2018, there has been an average of fewer than one E. coli outbreak reported in Montana per year. However, the McDonald’s outbreak is the second outbreak of E. coli O157 reported in Montana in 2024. Earlier this summer, there was an outbreak of E. coli O157 linked to wagyu beef served at Flathead County restaurants that led to a recall of ground meat processed at a Flathead County processing facility. Prior to this year, Montana had an E. coli outbreak linked to a family reunion in 2021. In 2018 the state had nine cases of E. coli that were part of a multistate outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, and three cases of E. coli linked to a roping event.

Even though the CDC reports just the confirmed cases which requires several layers of lab testing, the actual number of people sickened from foodborne illness is likely much larger because of those who did not seek medical attention, but still had symptoms.

“By the time the cases were connected, we weren’t seeing anymore illness and the ingredients had been pulled,” Page said.

Most of the reports happened early in October, with Yellowstone County receiving its last report on Oct. 16. Page said that the danger passed soon after the contaminated yellow onions sold by Taylor Farms were pulled. Still, that hasn’t necessarily stopped the concern.

Page said that some are still calling RiverStone Health, wondering if they’ve been sickened by the McDonald’s E.coli.

“If anything happened now, we’d be looking at a different scenario,” Page said. “Still, if you think you’ve got a foodborne illness, there’s no need to call us, you need to go to your doctor.”

She said that some have called, wondering if an illness they had around that time can be linked. Page said that’s not something that can be answered.

“There’s no way to backtrack and see,” Page said. “Once you’ve recovered, it’s impossible to tell.”

The Centers For Disease Control report that foodborne cases of this particular E.coli variant result in more than 2,300 hospitalizations and 20 deaths annually.

Most of the time, people who consume food contaminated with the E.coli can show symptoms in three to four days, although it may be as soon as 24 hours later. The fatality rate, according to the CDC, is between 0 and 2%, but may be much higher for elderly, children or other medically vulnerable populations.

Craft reported consuming a Quarter Pounder meal from McDonald’s on Southgate Drive in Billings on Sept. 29 and becoming ill on Oct. 1, with a loss of appetite and nausea and chest pain. She went to a hospital to seek treatment on Oct. 6, when a computer tomography (CT) scan showed colitis and swelling near the liver. A stool sample confirmed the E. coli.

The lawsuit said that Craft is in the process of recovery, but she remains weak and hasn’t regained her full appetite.

“(McDonald’s) owed a duty of care to (Craft) to design, manufacture and/or sell food that was not adulterated, that was fit for human consumption,” the lawsuit said. “The defendants had a duty to properly supervise, train, and monitor their employees…engaged in the preparation and sale of their food products, to ensure compliance with the defendants’ operating standards and to ensure compliance with all applicable health regulations.”

Craft and her attorneys are asking for a jury trial, plus damages and attorneys’ fees.

She is being represented by Michael A. Bliven and Avery L. Field of Bliven Law Firm of Kalispell and William D. Marler and R. Drew Falkenstein of Marler Clark, of Bainbridge Island, Washington.