An Arizona woman, Karen Echard, is suing Townsend Farms, maker of the frozen berry blend recently implicated in a hepatitis A outbreak, MyFox Phoenix reports. At risk of losing her job, facing mounting medical bills, and uncertainty about whether or not she will graduate, Echard decided to sue the berry maker.

Though she is unable to remember from which Costco she bought the berries, Echard says those berries were one of her favorites for her morning protein shake.  Then, she found herself suffering from a fever, stomach ache, and chills.  When she realized her skin was yellow, she took herself to the emergency room.  The virus puzzled her doctor at first because he could not identify how she contracted the illness.  After learning of the outbreak, Echard’s doctor confirmed that she had consumed the suspected berry blend.

According to the World Health Organization, hepatitis A is a viral liver disease that is transmitted through contact with an infected person or consumption of contaminated food or water.  It is often associated with poor sanitation measures.  The prognosis for affected individuals varies, but is rarely fatal.  At this time, Echard is facing a recovery period of up to six months.

Hepatitis A outbreaks in the U.S. are relatively rare.  Most multistate foodborne outbreaks in recent years have come from salmonella or E. coli.  Echard’s lawsuit is not the first to be filed after contaminated food was sold or served.

Ixtapa Family Mexican Resaturant in Washington was the source of a 2008 outbreak of E. coli.  A group of plaintiffs sued the restaurant after there were 23 confirmed cases of infection and an additional 41 suspected.  Of these cases, four were hospitalized and one developed a life-threatening complication.

A Canadian family sued the lettuce supplier Tanimura & Antle after their family member died from consuming their lettuce contaminated with E. coli.  The victim first returned home after the infection seemed to have been addressed, but she suffered from medical complications related to congestive heart failure and eventually passed away.

Food poisoning lawsuits can be difficult to win, given the nature of the burden of proof.  The lawsuit generally arises through a products liability theory, where there is a claim that a product was defective.  The plaintiff must be able to show that the food was contaminated and consumption of that contaminated food made her sick.  When there is a delay between consumption and illness, this becomes harder to prove.  The level of the burden of proof varies between states.