The City of Chico is being sued over last summer’s E. coli outbreak in Big Chico Creek that left four kids sick. According to the lawsuit, the city is to blame for the children’s illnesses.
Brian Ernst, an attorney with Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm representing the families, said the city didn’t follow required water-testing rules at places like Sycamore Pool, leading to the children being hospitalized.
“The city failed to correctly monitor the waters of Big Chico Creek for E. coli, and when they failed to do that, kids got sick, and that's what it really boils down to,” Ernst told NSPR on Wednesday.
Interim City Manager Erik Gustafson said in an email that the city received the lawsuit Tuesday and is not able to comment on active litigation.
Adriana Zimova, also an attorney with Marler Clark, said proper water testing would have shown E. coli levels were unsafe. Zimova also alleged the city neglected to remove sediment out of the pool, which later tested positive for E. coli O157.
“The failure of the city to have its paperwork in order, to remove the sediment on time, was a substantial factor in what happened here,” Zimova said. “It was obligated to do it — it didn't do it.”
The families are seeking compensation for medical costs and physical and emotional damages.
“It caused substantial financial hardship, given the serious complications that a lot of these children developed,” Ernst said. “It's something that's not cheap.”
Ernst said all four of the children — ages one, five, nine and 13 — were hospitalized, three developing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening complication of E. coli infection that can lead to kidney failure.
“For those children that developed HUS, it's possible that they may need lifelong follow-up care because of the damage E. coli did to their kidneys,” Ernst said.
Sycamore Pool remains open this summer, and local health officials say repeated testing has found no sign of the dangerous E. coli O157 strain that sickened four children last year.
Butte County Public Health Officer Dr. Jarett Beaudoin said the county is no longer testing specifically for O157.
Instead, the City of Chico is conducting weekly tests for general E. coli levels and posting warning signs when bacteria levels are elevated.
