By HOI ABC
BLOOMINGTON – Ten Illinois Wesleyan University’s track team members and coaches are suing the owners of a Bloomington Jimmy John’s restaurant claiming they got sick after eating a sandwich.
The lawsuit filed in McLean County Court alleges some of the employees of Jimmy John’s at 203 W. Market St. made sandwiches bare-handed even though they were contaminated with norovirus, according to our news partner HOI ABC.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the “very” contagious virus causes vomiting and diarrhea.
The lawsuit alleges team members and coaches ate the sandwich on December 1, 2018, and three days later, the Downtown Bloomington restaurant was closed for the day because of several reports that customers became ill.
The lawsuit, filed by Bloomington attorney James Ginzkey, said McLean County and state health departments conducted an investigation, and found some of the workers had the norovirus and made sandwiches in their bare hands.
As a result of eating the contaminated food, all ten of the plaintiffs “endured pain and suffering and some incurred medical expense,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages from the restaurant’s owner, Butts-Largent Investment Group. Co-owner Marc Largent declined comment on the lawsuit Thursday night.
The first court hearing in the case is scheduled for June 4.
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