Every now and again there are reports of groups becoming ill after eating something, whether it be hamburgers, chicken or certain fruits or vegetables. The foodborne illness usually affects multiple people in multiple areas, even when the contamination comes from one source. Such illnesses can then lead to multiple injury claims against that one source. The insurer of that source then must decide whether to address the claims as one occurrence or multiple occurrences.
As an example, consider the case of Republic Underwriters Insurance Co. v. Moore. Here, the County Cottage Restaurant in Locust Grove, Okla., was preparing and serving E. coli-contaminated food between Aug. 15 and Aug. 24, 2008. Some 341 people were infected: 21 ate food at a church gathering catered by the restaurant, while the rest became sick after eating at the restaurant. Were the bodily injury claims that were submitted a result of one occurrence or multiple occurrences?
Limiting Policy Language
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
