Montana woman sues Costco, supplier in E. coli outbreak

SEATTLE — A Montana woman is suing Costco and its California vegetable supplier because of the E. coli illness she contracted after eating chicken salad she bought at the company’s Bozeman store.

The lawsuit filed was Monday in the Butte division of U.S. District Court by Minneapolis law firm Pritzker Olsen and its associates at Bozeman law firm Beck &Amsden.

Kelsey Lee Thielbahr, a 30-year-old physical therapy assistant from Gallatin County, Montana, got sick after eating chicken salad she purchased Oct. 18 at the Costco in Bozeman.

Costco has identified its supplier, Taylor Farms of California, as the probable source of the E. coli outbreak since it supplied the onion and celery mix in the salad. Tests by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have found E. coli on vegetables used in the salad.

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