2nd Lawsuit Filed Over E. Coli Outbreak in Oklahoma

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a Locust Grove, Okla., restaurant where an E. coli outbreak killed one man and sickened hundreds last summer.

Cynthia Ingle, the widow of victim Chad Ingle, filed the complaint in Mayes County District Court against the owners of the Country Cottage restaurant.

Chad Ingle died a week after eating at the buffet-style eatery. His was the only fatality blamed on the August outbreak, which became the largest in the nation’s history for the rare E. coli strain O111.

A recent report by the Oklahoma State Department of Health could not determine how the bacteria was introduced into the restaurant.

In March, a couple filed the first complaint against the Country Cottage, claiming the outbreak caused one of them to become seriously ill.