Ron Simon & Associates, the national food safety law firm, files the lawsuit on behalf of Hospitalized Army Veteran David Ott
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the national food poisoning law firm of Ron Simon & Associates, along with DiCello Levitt & Casey LLC, of Ohio, filed the first cyclospora lawsuit arising out of the nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak now linked to tainted shredded iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell restaurants by Taylor Farms.
The suit was filed in Mahoning County, Ohio, on behalf of David Ott, a 27-year veteran of the United States Army.
On June 18th and 20th of 2026, Mr. Ott purchased several Taco Supremes from the Taco Bell restaurant located at 850 N. Canfield Niles Road in Youngstown, Ohio.
By the morning of June 22nd, Mr. Ott was suffering from excruciating abdominal pain, severe gas and bloating, diarrhea, a constant urge to vomit, low-grade fever, dizziness, nausea, and headaches. As his symptoms continued to worsen, his wife Kendle rushed him to Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center, where he was triaged and admitted. Mr. Ott underwent a colonoscopy, a CT scan, and extensive blood and stool studies. Laboratory results confirmed that he had contracted cyclospora poisoning.
Mr. Ott was hospitalized for two days, and eventually discharged to home care with a prescription for Bactrim, a sulfa antibiotic. He continues to recover at home.
His nationally renowned food safety attorney, Ron Simon of Ron Simon & Associates, who represents hundreds of victims of this outbreak across the country, issued the following statement this morning:
“David Ott gave twenty-seven years of his life to this country. He should not have had to spend his summer vacation in a hospital bed because a lettuce supplier and a national restaurant chain failed to keep a parasite out of the food they sold him.
Cyclospora does not appear in food by accident. It gets there when produce is grown, washed, or handled in contact with human or animal feces.
In this litigation, we will make sure that all of our clients are fully and fairly compensated, we will find out exactly how the lettuce became contaminated, and we will make sure that Taco Bell and Taylor Farms take the steps necessary to ensure that this never happens again.”
A copy of the lawsuit is available upon request.
On the evening of July 16, 2026, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published a report identifying shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell as the source of cyclospora infections in 5 states – Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. So far, the CDC has counted 1,644 victims, with 94 being hospitalized. Dates of the illnesses range from May 13, 2026 to July 13, 2026. And the outbreak continues to grow.
The individual affected states are reporting thousands more cases currently under investigation.
The CDC’s traceback investigation has identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by these Taco Bell locations. Reporting by multiple media outlets, including CNN and The Washington Post, has confirmed that the supplier of the tainted lettuce is Taylor Farms.
The CDC has also warned consumers not to consume shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell in the five affected states.
Taylor Farms, the trade name of Taylor Fresh Foods, Inc., is a Salinas, California-based produce company that supplies several major restaurant chains across the United States. It is not the first time the company has been connected to this parasite: in 2013, a salad mix traced to a Taylor Farms processing facility in Mexico sickened 631 people with cyclospora across 25 states.
Taco Bell has indefinitely removed the tainted lettuce from its stores nationwide.
Food Safety Attorneys Establish a Taco Bell Cyclospora Claim Center
Mr. Simon and his law firm have established the Taco Bell Cyclospora Claim Center to assist victims in the outbreak. The Claim Center can be reached toll-free at 1-888-335-4901 or by visiting the firm’s website at https://www.ronsimonassociates.com/.
About Food Safety Attorney Ron Simon
Over the last 33 years, Ron Simon and his colleagues have prosecuted thousands of food poisoning cases for victims across the United States. His work has resulted in numerous upgrades to food safety procedures in Fortune 500 companies and in legislation designed to protect consumers from dangerous food-borne pathogens.
Mr. Simon and his clients have been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and virtually all other major television networks and print media. Mr. Simon and his legal team have collected over $850,000,000 for their clients.
His firm regularly publishes articles about food safety, outbreaks, and litigation at www.foodpoisoningnews.com which are read by viewers in over 180 countries.
Through litigation, media commentary, and his food poisoning publications, Mr. Simon relentlessly challenges food manufacturers, distributors, and restaurants to do a better job in making our food safe.
For media inquiries or more information on the outbreak and the Taco Bell Cyclospora Claim Center, please contact Ron Simon directly at (713) 335-4900 or ron@rsaalaw.com.
SOURCE Ron Simon & Associates