PITTSBURGH — A Mercer County, Pennsylvania, woman is suing Taco Bell and Taylor Farms, accusing the companies of negligence after the Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker she bought at the fast food chain last month left her hospitalized with a cyclosporiasis infection.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court on behalf of Heather Kebert, also alleges that Taylor Farms and Taco Bell are liable for the cyclosporiasis outbreak, which has sickened thousands across more than a dozen states.

“Ms. Kebert should not have spent part of her summer in a hospital bed after eating at a national restaurant chain,” attorney Rob Peirce, whose firm is representing Kebert, said in a statement. “In this litigation, we intend to determine how the lettuce became contaminated and what steps Taco Bell and Taylor Farms can take to help ensure this never happens again.”

According to the lawsuit, Kebert went to a Meadville Taco Bell on July 7 and ordered an Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker — a quesadilla-type meal that contained shredded lettuce distributed by California-based Taylor Farms.

Kebert, the lawsuit contends, “did not know and did not have a reason to know that the product she purchased and consumed was contaminated with the diarrhea-causing parasite Cyclospora.”

Further, her attorneys wrote, she “expected the food she purchased to be safe” rather than “contaminated by harmful parasites.”

Her symptoms began about three days later on July 10, according to the lawsuit, and she was hospitalized July 12. Kebert was hospitalized for two days and ultimately found she’d contracted cyclosporiasis.

Taylor Farms recalled its iceberg lettuce July 17.

The product — that is, the Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker — “did not conform to what was promised,” according to the lawsuit, and Kebert “would not have purchased and consumed (the food) had she known the truth about the product.”

The filing also alleged that Taylor Farms and Taco Bell had a duty to disclose the potential contamination of the lettuce.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Pennsylvania to its list of states connected to the outbreak July 24. As of late last month, the Allegheny County Health Department had recorded nearly three dozen cases.

_____

© 2026 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.