Minnesota woman sues Chipotle after being hospitalized for salmonella

A Minnesota woman alleges she contracted a life-threatening salmonella infection and sepsis from a Chipotle burrito bowl in late June, leading her to file a lawsuit against the restaurant chain. Kristen Behne's suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, claims that contaminated jalapeno peppers served at a Roseville, Minn., Chipotle caused her severe illness.

Behne reported experiencing symptoms including syncope, fever, chills, vomiting, and abdominal cramping approximately 76 hours after consuming the meal. Her condition escalated to sepsis, a dangerous response to infection, requiring hospitalization for three days. The lawsuit details her admission to M Health Fairview St. John’s Hospital, where her temperature reached 102.3 degrees Fahrenheit and her heart rate was 145 beats per minute.

The legal filing asserts that Behne's health has not fully recovered, and she continues to suffer from the lingering effects of the salmonella infection and septic episode. The suit seeks compensation for her debilitating illness, hospitalization, medical costs, lost income, and diminished quality of life. Behne's legal team argues she was entitled to trust Chipotle's food safety representations, which they claim proved false.

“

Ms. Behne did nothing wrong. She could not have inspected her food for Salmonella; the pathogen is invisible, odorless, and tasteless. She was entitled to rely, and did rely, on Chipotle’s representations that the food it prepared and sold was safe to eat. Those representations were false.