Steve Orr

@SOrr1

A mother and son who were among 260 people sickened after dining at Golden Ponds on Thanksgiving Day have filed suit against the Greece restaurant.

Natalie Woods and her adult son, Connor Wynn, both of Webster, say they experienced severe gastrointestinal symptoms after their extended family ate at the jam-packed restaurant on Nov. 24.

Woods, who was diagnosed with an inflamed and infected colon, said her prolonged bout with debilitating cramps and bloody diarrhea was "awful."

"Somebody needs to be accountable for what happened. I was sick for 3 ½ or 4 weeks. I started feeling better a few days before Christmas," she said.

Public health officials determined that a foodborne pathogen, a bacteria known as Clostridium perfringens, was responsible for the mass illness. The case is now considered the largest known outbreak of foodborne illness in the Rochester area.

The toxic bacteria multiplied in food that had been kept at unsafe temperatures and sat at buffet tables for an extended period of time, the investigation by the Monroe County and New York state health departments found. Gravy was the most likely culprit, they said.

Source of Golden Ponds illnesses? Gravy

Four Golden Ponds patrons were hospitalized, though all recovered, according to county health officials. No deaths were reported.

The suit, filed Thursday in state Supreme Court in Rochester, likely is the first of many legal actions that will be brought against the restaurant and party house on Long Pond Road. Paul Nunes, a Rochester lawyer who is co-counsel on the case, said lawyers have already heard from several dozen patrons who fell ill after eating there on Thanksgiving.

"A very similar Clostridium perfringens outbreak caused three deaths within the past couple months. This is not a matter to be taken lightly," Nunes said. "I don’t take any pleasure in bringing these actions. I think of it as a public service. If there are no consequences for this, you’ll see this again."

The triple-fatal case to which he referred occurred at a Thanksgiving luncheon in November sponsored by a church in Antioch, California. Twenty-two others were sickened.

Golden Ponds was closed by county health officials after an inspection conducted Nov. 25 found numerous problems, including three critical violations for things that could have affected food safety.

The restaurant and banquet center, which had served as many as 1,100 people on Thanksgiving, reopened Dec. 27 after a reinspection by the county found the problems had been resolved.

Golden Ponds owner Ralph Rinaudo said Thursday that business has been "really tough" since he reopened. "We have to build people’s confidence up to come back and try us. Right now, they're not coming back. We hope that people do."

Rinaudo, who has owned the restaurant and party house for 33 years, said he did not know about the lawsuit, and did not yet know whether his insurance company would assist with his legal defense.

"Now we'll see what it’s going to boil down to," he said. "It’s tough to operate and handle a lawsuit on top of that. I’m just trying to do the best I can."

Nunes has been involved in numerous foodborne safety lawsuits locally. He is partnering on this case, as he has with others, with Bill Marler of Seattle, whom Nunes described as the nation's leading foodborne illness litigator.

Nunes said they either will amend the suit filed Thursday to add more plaintiffs, or file separate lawsuits on their behalf. He does not know if lawyers will seek class-action status for the case, and said that people who fell sick at Golden Ponds should contact him now if they wish to be involved in the legal action.

The mother-and-son plaintiffs in the initial filing both developed stomach pain, cramping and diarrhea early Nov. 25, the day after they'd eaten turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and other foods at Golden Ponds, according to the complaint filed on Thursday.

Wynn's symptoms subsided after two days, but his mother had to consult a physician twice, undergo a CT scan and take two types of antibiotics. She missed three days of work, Nunes said.

"She was a very sick lady," he said.

Woods said she dined with seven relatives and friends, but only she and her son got sick. She remembers the two of them scraping the last of the gravy from a serving dish at the buffet, and now wonders if that is where they took up the pathogen.

Woods said she has gone out to eat since Thanksgiving, but certainly not to Golden Ponds and not to anyplace she didn't know and trust. "Yeah, I am leery," she said.

The lawsuit accuses Golden Ponds of negligently serving food that contained a deadly pathogen and was prepared and served in violation of food safety laws. The suit seeks unspecified damages for pain and suffering and to cover medical and other expenses.

SORR@Gannett.com