Phoebe Judge

Brianne's mother, Suzanne, realized she should get a lawyer.

She met with several, including Bill Marler, who came to meet her and Brianne in the hospital.

Bill also knew that he didn't have as much experience as some of the other lawyers Suzanne was considering.

so he was surprised when she called him and said she wanted to hire him.

Suzanne later told Jeff Benedict, quote, I wanted someone who'd come in and spend 15 minutes just absorbing her.

Bill was the only one that could look at her.

Bill Marler began looking into Brianne's case.

Breanne stayed in the hospital for months.

She had to have another surgery and had to relearn almost everything.

Her colors, how to read, how to walk.

Suzanne later told a reporter that Breanne's muscles all over her body had atrophied so much she struggled to chew food.

As Bill read about food safety standards, he learned that Jack in the Box hadn't been the only restaurant that didn't follow the new Washington state cooking temperature rule to cook ground beef to 155 degrees.

Most counties in the state weren't enforcing it.

There were a number of restaurant inspection reports from the weeks before the outbreak where state health inspectors wrote things like, remember to cook to 140.

Bill sent Jack in the Box's lawyers a formal request for any internal documents that had to do with how the restaurant stored, prepared, and cooked its meat.

Bill spent weeks poring over the documents.

While going through the files from their quality assurance department, he found a notice from the Washington State Department of Health describing the new mandatory cooking temperature for beef.

According to the date on the document, Jack in the Box had received it seven months before the outbreak began.

Bill found something else.

Before the outbreak, a Jack in the Box employee sent a complaint to corporate headquarters.