Melinda Pratt had been buying the same brand of organic carrots for years: Bunny Luv by Grimmway Farms.
Pratt, 40, a mother of three in Savannah, Georgia, said she most recently bought the brand's whole carrots from her local Sam's Club on Sept. 30.
After she ate them, she said, she began experiencing bloody diarrhea and stomach pain that felt like "somebody getting stabbed in the stomach repeatedly and not stopping." Her symptoms also included nausea and vomiting, Pratt said, adding that she was the only one in her household who ate the carrots.
"I genuinely thought at some point that I was slowly dying," she said.
A couple weeks later, she was hospitalized for three days with an E. coli infection. Pratt sued Grimmway Farms on Monday. The company recalled batches of organic whole and baby carrots Saturday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the products were most likely linked to a multistate E. coli outbreak.
The CDC has reported 39 cases, 15 hospitalizations and one death associated with the outbreak across 18 states. New York, Minnesota and Washington have had the most cases so far.
Pratt said she sued because she thinks her experience "seems like it could be simple to be prevented."
Hers is the first suit related to this E. coli outbreak. The case, filed by the law firms Ron Simon & Associates and Gomez Trial Attorneys, seeks to compel Grimmway Farms to pay for Pratt's medical fees and compensate her for pain and suffering. Pratt said in an interview that she owes $20,000 for her treatment because she went to an out-of-network hospital, though NBC News was unable to independently review her medical bills.
Dana Brennan, vice president of external affairs and corporate responsibility at Grimmway Farms, said in a statement that the company does not comment on pending litigation but offered a general comment about the recall: "We are taking this matter seriously and conducting a thorough review of our operations consistent with our ongoing commitment to providing customers with safe, high-quality produce," she said.
In a news release announcing the recall, Grimmway Farms' president and CEO, Jeff Huckaby, said customer health and the integrity of its product are the company's "highest priorities."
"We are conducting a thorough review of our growing, harvest, and processing practices. Our food safety team is working with our suppliers and health authorities," he said.
The recalled carrots were sold under a variety of brands across major stores nationwide, including Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Wegmans and Target. They are no longer on store shelves: Affected whole carrots were sold through Oct. 23, while the baby carrots have best-by dates up to Nov. 12, Grimmway Farms said in the news release about the recall. However, the products may still be in homes, so the company instructed people to throw them away.
Pratt sued in Kern County, California, where Grimmway Farms is based. The suit alleges that the company breached its duty to provide safe products and failed to warn about the potential hazards of the carrots. Now recovered, Pratt said she hopes the suit could help prevent future outbreaks.
Ron Simon, one of Pratt's lawyers, said he is representing six other clients with illnesses that may be connected to the outbreak. Simon, who specializes in food safety cases, said he expects the number of lawsuits to increase. Simon said he continues to get calls from people who believe they were sickened by contaminated carrots.
E. coli bacteria typically spread through fecal matter, which can contaminate food and water. Cooking can kill the bacteria, but because some produce is eaten raw, it has been associated with outbreaks in recent years, including the one last month most likely linked to slivered onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounders.
Symptoms of an E. coli infection can include diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting. In vulnerable groups, such as children or older adults, the bacteria can lead to serious kidney complications and even death. Of around a quarter-million E. coli infections per year in the U.S., less than 10% develop into serious cases, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Simon said two particular problems are common in produce-related E. coli outbreaks: poor washing and poor testing.
"With vegetables, especially fresh vegetables and salads, those aren't cooked, and so you're relying completely on the washing process to get rid of the E. coli," he said.
Pratt said it was a relief that her husband and their kids -- ages 20, 18 and 11 -- did not eat the carrots.
"To think one of my family members -- " Pratt said, trailing off as she choked up. "To go through what I went through, it's unimaginable."
For now, Pratt said, she is "done with carrots for quite some time."
"I never would have thought, at all, carrots could have caused that illness that I went through," she said. "It makes me kind of scared to go shopping now for produce."