Aimee Walker
A grandfather tragically died after eating a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder and now his heartbroken family are speaking out.
James Charles Smith, also known as JC Smith, lived in Grand Junction, Colorado, and was described as a loving and compassionate marine veteran.
The 88-year-old passed away on October 20 after eating a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder – a burger consisting of a quarter-pound patty of beef, two slices of cheese, onion, pickles, mustard, and tomato sauce in a sesame seed bun.
Smith’s daughter, Debbie Bonnell, said: “All he wanted to do was enjoy a hamburger with his wife. He put his trust in these restaurants, and all we want is our dad back.”
Smith reportedly visited the fast food chain in late September and ended up in hospital.
The marine veteran’s daughter told KCNC-TV he had been feeling weak and dizzy, didn’t want to get out of bed, was suffering from diarrhea, and could barely walk.
After four days, the 88-year-old was released from hospital. Doctors informed the family that according to lab tests, he’d suffered from an E. coli infection, Smith’s daughter told the station.
Cleveland Clinic says: “E. coli is a group of bacteria that can cause infections in your gut (GI tract), urinary tract, and other parts of your body.
“Most of the time, it can live in your gut without hurting you. But some strains can make you sick with watery diarrhea, vomiting, and a fever. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) is most likely to cause severe illness.”
Bonnell recounted: “[The health department worker] asked ‘Where did my parents eat?’ because there was some type of outbreak. But they were not going to say where yet.”
Sometime after this hospitalization, Smith revisited McDonald’s and ordered another Quarter Pounder, he was then sick again.
The 88-year-old was rushed to the hospital and died shortly after.
Two days after Smith’s passing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched an investigation into the E. coli outbreak.
It was noted that slivered onions served on Quarter Pounders and other items at the restaurant chain were the likely source of the outbreak.
The CDC website says the impacted McDonald’s restaurants got their onions from Taylor Farms in Colorado. The facility has now recalled its yellow onions.
The website also states the lone death reportedly from the outbreak was ‘an older adult in Colorado.’
Following the outbreak, McDonald’s pulled the Quarter Pounder from around one-fifth of its restaurants and reintroduced it after the Colorado Department of Agriculture confirmed the beef patties from impacted locations had tested negative for E. coli, per USA Today.
In the announcement reintroducing the Quarter Pounder on October 27, McDonald’s said its burgers would be sold without slivered onions at the 900 restaurants where its onions were from Taylor Farms.
At the time of writing, at least three lawsuits have been filed over the ordeal.
Smith’s grandson, Jim, said his family is angry and has lingering questions over whether more could have been done to save their beloved family member.
He said: “If you are out there in that line of work… and you lose a level of concern or become complacent, accidents happen. Then you’re going to be held accountable. And when you’re talking about taking people’s loved ones and changing their life permanently, others need to know.”
Smith’s wife, Doris, explained that she didn’t eat her onions, instead, she scraped them off her meal and gave them to her husband.
She said: “I feel guilty now because I gave him some onions.”
At this point, Smith’s family has not filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s or anyone involved.
McDonald’s U.S.A. President, Joe Erlinger, released a video addressing the outbreak in late October.
He said the company is taking precautions to ensure its food is safe to eat and working with public health authorities to understand how the outbreak began.
“I know that our relationship is built on trust,” Erlinger stated. “You trust us to serve you safe food every time. On behalf of the McDonald’s system, I want you to hear from me, we are sorry.”
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