A woman has sued a Florida dairy farm state officials linked to an outbreak of infections from consuming raw milk, claiming she lost her unborn child while she was caring for her toddler who got sick from the milk.
Rachel Maddox claimed that she didn’t know about the risks involved with raw milk and that her child became seriously sick after having consumed the product, according to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Seminole County.
Now she’s suing Keely Farms Dairy, a farm in New Smyrna Beach, which the state Health Department said this month was linked to at least 21 cases of campylobacter and shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections since January.
Those cases included six children under age 10 and seven hospitalizations.
State health officials warned at the time about the potential risks of drinking raw milk — milk that is not pasteurized, meaning it has not gone through a heat-treating process that destroys bacteria.
At the time, the state Health Department said it was working with the farm to ensure “effective sanitation practices are implemented consistently across every batch.”
In the suit, Maddox claimed she purchased Keely Farms Dairy raw milk at Wild Hare Natural Market in June when she was nearly 20 weeks pregnant.
Keely Farms Dairy, Wild Hare Natural Market and attorneys for Maddox did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
She purchased the milk for her husband, who grew up in Eastern Europe and had expressed “an appreciation for farm fresh milk,” the complaint said.
“Unaware of any potential dangers, she purchased it,” the complaint said.
The milk did have a label — in accordance with Florida law — that said it was for animal, not human, consumption.
She inquired about the label but was told it was “a technical requirement to sell ‘farm milk’” and she did not question it further, the complaint said. The complaint does not specify whom Maddox asked about the label.
Maddox and her husband began to provide the milk to their toddler, identified by the initials L.U., but after having consumed the raw milk on June 8, the lawsuit alleges, L.U. began to experience diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain, chills and dehydration.
They took the toddler to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children on June 9 “for the first of what would be three emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the next several weeks,” the suit said.
The child was hospitalized for severe gastroenteritis from June 9 to 12. During that visit, L.U. was found to have both E. coli and campylobacter.
Drinking raw milk or its products can expose people to germs, including campylobacter, Escherichia coli (E. coli), listeria, salmonella and other types of bacteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Campylobacter can make people ill with diarrhea. STEC is a type of E. coli that can cause bloody diarrhea, severe stomach cramps and vomiting, according to the CDC. STEC bacteria in the most severe form can also result in hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to kidney failure and is particularly concerning for children, the Health Department said.
L.U. was discharged on June 12 but returned to the hospital on the 14th because of bloody stool. He underwent surgery for intussusception — a type of bowel blockage — and was treated for possible hemolytic uremic syndrome. He was discharged on the 16th, according to the suit.
