Natural Selection Foods, the company that packaged spinach linked to the outbreak of the E. coli bacteria throughout the United States, has offered to pay the medical bills for all people who have gotten sick after eating the tainted spinach. “We know it's the right thing to do,” said Charles Sweat, CEO of Natural Selection Foods. But is accepting the offer the “right thing to do” for victims?

As of Sept. 26, 2006 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported 183 cases of E. coli in 26 states plus one case in Canada directly related to eating spinach from Natural Selection Foods. One person has died as a result of the illness. Further, there were 29 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) – a serious kidney condition – and 95 hospitalizations as of that date.

The tainted spinach was packaged under at least 30 different brand names, and came from three different counties in California. Consumers, the FDA said, “can be confident that spinach grown in the non-implicated areas can be consumed.” Processed spinach including frozen and canned spinach is also safe from E. coli, according to the FDA.

But for those already affected by the tainted spinach there are other questions to be answered, including who will be footing their medical bills and lost wages. On the surface, the offer made by Natural Selection Foods seems to look good and industry experts have speculated that the offer is being made in good faith. However, accepting this offer would likely require E. coli victims to sign away any future legal rights. And although victims would have their expenses paid, there probably won’t be much offered in the way of compensation for pain and suffering while enduring this horrible illness.

In cases of product liability such as this E. coli outbreak, it is often in the victim’s best interest to secure the legal counsel before signing any documents or making any firm decisions about his or her legal rights.

As of September 2006, there were already five lawsuits filed against the company (as well as other “unknown” companies that may be named once the original source of the E. coli tainted spinach is located) and dozens of others being prepared.