A lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court Tuesday against a supplier and restaurant chain where a man’s 3-year-old daughter dined and fell ill in Costa Mesa.
The lawsuit alleges the girl is expected to face a “life-long battle following her severe kidney injury.”
Jeffrey Gogue ordered chicken and a beef kofta plate from the Kebab Shop at 1555 Adams Ave. on March 28, and the following day his daughter “began to suffer from bloody diarrhea, nausea and vomiting,” the lawsuit alleged.
By April 3, the girl’s health “deteriorated significantly,” and her parents took her to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, according to the lawsuit.
The girl was diagnosed with “acute kidney failure” and required hospitalization for 17 days, according to the suit.
The state Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Agriculture are investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to beef kofta and the Kebab Shops in California.
The Kebab Shop restaurant chain issued a statement on Sunday saying it had cut ties with supplier Olympia Foods, which is also being sued by the girl’s parents.
“Both the California Department of Public Health and USDA confirmed that there are no reported cases of E. coli outside California possibly linked to this E. coli outbreak, and that there is no ongoing risk to consumers because this product was voluntarily removed by TKS nationwide on May 18, 2026,” the Kebab Shop chain said in its statement.
The company added in its statement that it was “deeply concerned that product from our supplier has been identified as the potential source of a food-borne illness outbreak. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected by this outbreak. The health and safety of our customers is our highest priority.”
A message left with Olympia Foods was not immediately returned.
Nine people have been infected, including six children.
The lawsuit alleges strict products liability for supplying tainted meat, negligence, and breach of warranties.
Attorney Ron Simon, who represents the plaintiffs, said an E. coli illness is “uniquely dangerous to children” because it can be life-threatening.
“It usually attacks people with the weakest immune system… those are the people most likely to get hit” the hardest, Simon told City News Service.
Simon said the restaurant’s negligence was owed to not thoroughly cooking the meat. Any bacteria will be destroyed if meat is cooked to 165 degrees, he said.
“If you cook it properly it won’t hurt you,” Simon said. “They probably didn’t cook it enough to kill it.”
The attorney added that the length of time the girl required dialysis presents a concern of health problems down the line.
“When you’re on dialysis that long there’s a very, very high chance you’re going to need a kidney transplant later on in life,” Simon said.