^{From: Business Insider}

^{A 20-year-old Woman is Suing Costco Over Chicken Salad She Says Triggered Kidney Failure and $2 Million in Medical Bills}

 

^{Chloe Rodgerson says she racked up $2 million in medical bills after eating E. coli-tainted chicken salad from Costco.   A 20-year-old is suing Costco after E. coli-tainted chicken from the retailer caused serious health problems, including epilepsy and kidney failure.}

^{Chloe Rodgerson has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the budget retailer, two years after becoming seriously ill after eating Costco's tainted chicken salad, Fox 13 reports.}

^{In October 19, 2015, 19 people were infected with E. coli in California, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Utah, Virginia, and Washington after eating Costco's rotisserie chicken salad. Rodgerson had been admitted to the ICU after vomiting blood. Doctors struggled to diagnose what was causing problems, she says, until the FDA called to ask if she had eaten Costco chicken salad.}

^{Over the last two years, Rodgerson says that she racked up $2 million in medical bills, as hemolytic uremic syndrome led to renal failure, epilepsy, and diabetes. "I don't have $2 million and I’m not going to have sufficient resources to keep myself alive going forward in the future," she told Fox 13.}

^{Eventually, after a year and a half on dialysis, Rodgerson received a kidney transplant from her husband. She told Fox 13 that she continues to have health problems linked to the tainted chicken, and will not be able to have children.}

^{Costco did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. In addition to Robinson, four other people were hospitalized after eating the retailer's E. coli-tainted chicken, and one other developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.}

Madison Flager

August 08, 2017

When Chloe Rodgerson's dad bought rotisserie chicken salad from Costco two years ago, he had no idea what a drastic effect it would have on his daughter's life.

It turns out the chicken was contaminated with E. coli, and while all ten of the Rodgerson's family and friends who ate the salad became temporarily sick with stomach cramping, diarrhea and gas pains, Food Safety News reports, Chloe wound up in the hospital with far more severe issues, and is still recovering today.

Chloe's attorney's have sued the Costco Wholesale Corp. for claims including strict liability and negligence. According to the CDC, 19 people were infected by the E. coli strain from Costco's chicken salad in 2015, with five hospitalized.

"Right before I got sick, I had the best year of my life," Chloe said. "And then all of a sudden I woke up with a ventilator down my throat, literally strapped down to the hospital bed."

Chloe is seeking monetary compensation for her infection, the subsequent medical bills – which have already topped $2 million – and the damage it's done to her career.

Chloe was on her way to becoming a Broadway actress, having been trained in voice, musical theater, and dance since the age of five. She continued to train at the Utah Conservatory of the Performing Arts and had a part in the movie "Twelve Dogs of Christmas II." She also had an ensemble role in the Jason Robert Brown Parade performed at Lincoln Center.  According to Food Safety News, Rodgerson was headed to Disney World to perform as a Disney princess while earning an online degree. Because of her E. Coli infection, she had to give the job up.

She's in the five to 10 percent of people who develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, from E. Coli infection, which puts organs like the kidney and brain at risk. According to the CDC, one other person developed HUS from the Costco chicken salad.

Rodgerson had to have her large intestine removed, undergo several surgeries, and battle staph infections from the surgeries. The nightmare continued in 2016 when doctors determined she needed a kidney transplant. Luckily, her now-husband was a match, and the surgery took place in February 2017, a month after they were married.

Since then, she has been hospitalized several times due to risk of rejection, and suffers from frequent seizures. Today, her immune system is still very weak, causing her to get sick easily, and she regularly is admitted for dehydration.

"Since I do not have a large intestine, it is hard for my body to keep the right amount of fluids necessary for kidney function," she told Delish.

The federal court complaint says Rodgerson is looking at a lifetime of medical bills and visits, will not be able to work full time, and likely will not be able to work as a performer, given her skills have been "permanently diminished."

"It's crazy to think I had such big goals like acting for film or Broadway when now my biggest goals are to make it through the month without getting admitted," Chloe says.

She's hoping Costco, who has yet to comment on the matter, will comply with the lawsuit.

"I have been drowning in hospital bills and they have been silent on the issue."