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Chris Fronzak, lead singer for the heavy metal band Attila, had to perform several nights last month despite a serious salmonella infection from eating tainted tuna.
When heavy metal singer Chris Fronzak dubbed his latest gig “The Sick Tour,” he didn’t mean it literally.
But by the time the 22-year-old frontman for the band Attila was done with his multi-state concert series, he knew only too well what it meant to be stricken with gut-wrenching salmonella poisoning -- and to still have to strut and scream onstage.
“It was the worst,” recalled the performer known as “Fronz” to his fans and friends. “I was very miserable.”
Fronzak is among at least 258 people sickened by an outbreak of two rare strains of salmonella linked to sushi and other foods made from contaminated tuna.
Seattle law firm Marler Clark, which specializes in foodborne illnesses, filed a lawsuit on Fronzak's behalf Thursday in U.S. district court in Portland, Ore., where the singer lives.
He’s among the first people to sue Moon Marine USA Corp. of Cupertino, Calif., the firm that last month recalled 58,828 pounds of frozen Nakaochi Scrape, tuna bits gleaned from the backbones of the fish.
Government health officials have linked the Moon Marine tuna to the outbreak of salmonella Bareilly and salmonella Nchanga infections that have put at least 32 people in the hospital.
Fronzak says the culprit is a spicy tuna roll he ate on April 10 in Metairie, La. Thirty hours later, he was in a different state and nearly flattened by vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cramps and more. He spent six days trying to treat the illness himself, traveling in a tour bus and performing nearly nightly shows.
“[Cancelling] would have cost the band several thousand dollars,” said Fronzak. “It left me with no choice.”
Attila, which formed in Atlanta in 2005, has put out several albums, including "Outlawed." Fronzak said the group should be described as "a party metal band." "It's not dark music or anything," he said.
Fronzak's illness got so bad he finally went to an emergency room on a tour stop in Kansas City, Mo., where doctors treated him for pain and performed tests that finally revealed the problem: salmonella poisoning. But it was still several days and several more states before Fronzak got an antibiotic that started to help.
“Before I knew I had salmonella, I honestly thought I had stomach ulcers or liver failure from alcohol,” he Tweeted from his account @Fronz1lla on April 29.
Fronzak said he decided to sue because he has a family -- including a 7-month-old son, Blaise – and no health insurance. He doesn’t think he should be stuck with all the bills, like the $9,872 tab from the hospital in Missouri. He posted that on Twitter, too, with an unprintable hashtag.
“I’m not at fault for any of that,” Fronzak said. “I feel like I’ve been done wrong and I deserve compensation.”
Fronzak is not alone. Government food safety officials estimate that for every salmonella infection they hear about, 29.3 go unreported. Using that multiplier, the tainted tuna may have sickened as many as 7,558 other people.
Related stories:
258 now sick with sushi salmonella
Tainted tempehlinked to salmonella outbreak
Leave a Comment:
I just can't understand the love some have for raw fish. Besides the obvious threat of salmonella, the ever present danger of worm infestation is always a possibility. I eat cooked creatures only, no raw meat for me.
I'm with you.
I love sushi! Raw or cooked.... But obviously is not a good idea to eat for now.
Cook it till it's dead!
Better yet, my vegetarian friend's simple rule - Don't eat anything with eyes.
Say what you want, sushi properly prepared is no more dangerous than any other food you can get at any restaurant. And the only people who say they don't understand why people like it are people who are too squeamish to try it. It's delicious. Give it a shot.
FYI - Nakaochi Scrape is not sushi.
Arcturus - I applaud your choice: more potatoes for me
You are absolutely right - sushi can be loaded with fish parasites or their eggs - that is far greater risk than occasional salmonella seasoning... many of these parasites can infest humans as well.
I have tried it...several times (the..oh you haven't had THIS syndrome). Guess what, I still don't get it.
I've tried sushi several times. It's disgusting. The only people who claim to like it are snobs who think it's "cool" and trendy right now.
The idea of eating raw meat makes me squirm, too, but you can get food poisoning from anything.
There is a joke going around and it goes like this "How do you get holy water? You boil the h*** out of it." Frankly, that could be apply to this story...boil, cook, grill, etc before you eat fish. (no offense to anyone who uses holy water) People have been warned about the hazards of eating raw fish. If you chose to eat it raw, there might be consequences. He made the choice, now he wants to sue because he made a bad choice. Take responsibility for eating it.
You just need to load it up with enough wasabi to explode your sinuses. That's the real attraction.
I love sushi rolls and sashimi. Its simply as good or bad as the fish its made from. It must be high-quality and exceptionally fresh. Don't order sushi if you are more than 25 miles from seawater. In that case order the catfish and hushpuppies.
I also like Ceviche too. Mmmmm
You are extremely naive if you think most of the fish comes from local waters. " Don't order sushi if you are more than 25 miles from seawater". Most does not I can assure you.
jafo, most shrimp people eat in the US comes from asia, regardless of how close you are to seawater. Thankfully i live in the south, so Deep fryin is required by law.
There's a phrase you don't hear much.
Ha! Chris funny. I live in Virginia now, and there are sushi places all over the place.
come on james, I get it that you don't like it. some people don't like certain tastes, or certain textures in their foods. personally, I utterly gag on any cheese stronger than mozerella. (but many things with small to moderate amounts of cheese mixed as part of the flavoring are fine) but I love sushi , in fact I love food in general, and their is are very few things I won't try, and very few things that I actually hate in food ( like cheese).
the only "snob" is the person that claims that others are somehow wrong or "inferior" because they happen to enjoy something that you don't (talking to you james)
Eating sushi in Louisiana, lol. Okaaaayyyy!!
I personally love sushi, but I stopped eating it a while ago due to GI issues and concerns about possible problems that could arise. Translation: I used to have a cast iron stomach, but as I've gotten older I don't have it any more. There are a lot of other delicious things I can eat, though.
You can still get sick from eating tainted salad, undercooked chicken, or any product that is not fresh but is otherwise "cooked", so what's your point???
"James-440477
I've tried sushi several times. It's disgusting. The only people who claim to like it are snobs who think it's "cool" and trendy right now."
yeah, those people, and millions of Japanese who've been eating it for centuries.
oh yeah, and my co-workers five year old daughter...
what a wuss...
But...but....but.... Potatoes have eyes, now what? We don't eat potatoes either? *wink-wink*
Never eat anything RAW...countries like China export alot of food to us...and they don't care if it makes us sick.......
It's naive when people say "you can get sick from anything" as their reason why they have no fear of raw fish or meat. Wise up, folks: the key is RELATIVE RISK. Certain foods are much more likely to carry pathogens than others, no matter how supposedly clean sand fresh they are.
For people with immune system problems, as well as young children and the elderly, it's best to stick with LOW RISK foods, cleanly prepared and cooked thoroughly if a meat or protein. Raw or undercooked proteins, including fish, meats, poultry, eggs, and dairy products, as well as unwashed produce, carry a higher risk of disease-causing pathogens.
If you insist on eating raw fish, it's safer to eat that which has been FROZEN first because that kills some pathogens. It's also safer to eat smaller wild-caught fish from American or European waters rather than farmed fish from Asia.
Raw, cut-up fish.
Some of you call it food, the rest of us call it bait.
Amen.
red meat three times a day- some of you call it food, the rest of us call it colon cancer...
How does the headline justify the story? Is that singer (from an obscure group at that) the only person with any sort of notoriety that got ill? That's really reaching there. Shouldn't the headline focus on the real problem?
How does the headline justify the story? Is that singer (from an obscure group at that) the only person with any sort of notoriety that got ill? That's really reaching there. Shouldn't the headline focus on the real problem?
Heavy Metal Singer Slammed by Salmonella Sushi. Exactly what about the headline rang false with you? What isn't "justified"? The headline doesn't say he's famous, doesn't day he's the only one. The story is indeed about a heavy metal singer who came down with (slammed by) salmonella poisoning from eating tainted sushi. If you weren't interested in reading about that, you didn't have to click on the story.
Because there was a story at all, the headline implied it was probably someone famous. It wasn't. That was Cyman's point. It might as well have said "Some Random Person Out of 258 Got Slammed by Salmonella."
Sounds like "rock star" doesn't mean what it used to. I guess any garage band qualifies now.
Garage band? You've obviously have never listened to Atilla or even know their history. Calling them a garage band... sheesh. You are highly uninformed.
Just because you assumed they were famous doesn't mean MSNBC is to blame.
Mr James, to assume the only people who like sushi are snobs who think it's cool right now is the dumbest thing I have heard in a while. I happen to love sushi, for years now, and I dont recall a small sushi place in Bronx, New york, where I had it for the first time as a teenager, the place I would have picked if indeed I was trying to impress someone. Maybe an uppity place in Manhattan. Point is, to each his own. Just because you may not like it does not give you the right to put the millions of people who do into your idiotic stereotype.
I think most people make an assumption that when MSNBC prominently features an "news" story about a heavy metal singer getting slammed by bad sushi, that at least more than 2 people have ever heard about said singer. Where are the articles about the hair stylist who got food poisoning or the longshoreman with a painful ingrown toenail?
There's no story there. This guy had a tour, with dates to keep. He kept on going so his band would make money.
Now, tell me how you can make a similar story as interesting about a hair stylist? What, he puked on his client? Someone didn't get their hair cut for prom and they were crushed.
Come on, if you didn't like the story, you could have not bothered to click on it and read it.
Yes, and no insurance to boot. So if he doesn't win his case, who gets to pick up that tab? So many people can't get insurance, but MANY, MANY young people are just spinning the wheel, and hoping that they don't need it. But guess what? One day their number will come up and guess who get's to pick up that tab, too?
It's passed on to the folks that have sacrificed and worked a job they hate, just to have insurance, or sacrificed the money just to have insurance. People need insurance. Period. If you go in any hospital in the country and need a CT scan of the abdomen, you are looking at $5-6,000 dollars easy. Even with insurance, your coughing up $1-1200, and that is if, thankfully, you have met your deductible. Health care cost is out of control, insurance cost is out of control trying to keep up with it, and in the meantime the only beautiful new buildings in town are hospitals, clinics and doctor offices. I can get a shot in my azz in a metal pole building with a concrete floor, thank you. I don't need waterfalls and glass elevators. We need to get real about all this BS and do it quick or nobody will have anything left for the piper!
If he had Salmonella the way people usually get it after bad sushi, he wouldn't have been onstage at all. He wouldn't have been on his feet.
I have to agree. I've had salmonella poisoning twice (not from sushi... both times from sh!tty fast food) and e. coli once. Both make you sh!t and puke your brains out literally every fifteen to thirty minutes for a solid two days. I lost 15 pounds in 24 hours from dehydration from e. coli... probably should have gone to the hospital, but I didn't. At one point I was literally so weak I had to crawl from the bathroom back to bed because I couldn't stand.
I refuse to eat from Buffet Lines. That is disgusting...unless you are first!
100% right. It will knock you DOWN for two or three day's easy, with a good 3-4 more feeling very weak. People with lowered immune systems and the elderly and children can easily die from it. He must have been performing after the first two or three days. I would agree, even then, it would be difficult to put on a show.
So we now have to pay for this deadbeat not having health insurance? Nah...no health reform needed at all in this country.
This isn't a healthcare issue. This is yet another case of Joe Idiot tossing personal accountability to the side, while he tries to blame everyone other than himself for his own stupid actions. Nobody is making this guy walk around with no insurance, just like there is nobody forcing the guy to eat raw fish. He took the risks, he paid the price... now HE should have to literally pay the price.
So, you write the check to pay his medical bills! And leave those of us who choose to take care of basic needs out of it! Frankly, we're tired of having to finance every one else's lives.
You are right.
Yeah, I will pay his medical bills as part of my insurance premium this year....and I'll pay yours too when something of an unforeseen catastrophe befalls you as well if you choose to walk around with no insurance coverage. Bunch of deadbeats.
Pure speculation. The fact that he doesn't have health insurance doesn't mean he's indigent and unable to pay his bill.
And?
Nobody forces people to drive cars...no one forces people to work in construction....and there are inherent dangers associated w/ both activities.
Does that mean when someone gets T-boned by a drunk driver...or has a heavy piece of machinery fall on them at work....that suing the responsible party is an example of an "Idiot tossing personal accountability to the side"?
After all, they took the risks...they should have to literally pay the price...right?
Maybe so...but again, there's no evidence that you (and the mouse in your pocket) are...or will be... financing this singer's illness.
Sorry Charlie! Only the freshest infectious tuna goes into our barfarochi.
You quoted me out of context, so let's forget about the raw fish. Let's not even consider the fact that he has a kid and no health insurance. Hell, we can even skip the part where he all but admits to heavy alcohol usage. Aside from all of that... maybe he wouldn't have had a $9,872 hospital bill if he didn't WAIT SEVEN DAYS to get medical attention. A normal person goes to a doctor when they think their liver is failing. But hey, his own neglect is someone else's fault right? Well, it is when you toss personal accountability to the side. The guy is an idiot.
Well, let's make sure we correct that...
BS. Moon Marine USA Corp. doesn't constitute "everyone". He blamed one company...a company already identified as the source of the tainted food.
In fact...nobody is making him walk around at all....it's a choices he's making. Should we vilify him for walking as well?
The fact that he does so w/o insurance is irrelevant. If his illness was caused by someone else's negligence...it's not a reflection on his sense of "personal accountability" for litigating the matter.
In reality...even if he had health insurance...the insurance company can (and often does) subrogate to recover their out of pocket costs as well.
LOL...if we're not considering these issues...why mention them?
Sort like saying..."I'm not one to talk about people behind their backs"...right before talking about them behind their back.
Nonsense. Whether discovered on the 3rd day or the 8th...the tests required to diagnose, and the antibiotics and other meds used in treatment...cost roughly the same.
And since the symptoms of salmonella typhi often are present prior to the infection showing up in cultures....if he had gone in immediately there's a chance they would have misdiagnosed it...treated him for something else...increasing the end cost.
He's a professional Heavy Metal singer...normal? LMFAO!! Is everything/everyone abnormal...also failing your personal "personal accountability" litmus test?
No, the negligence of the fishery is someone else's fault. But, if you really want to try and demonstrate the financial impact of his alleged neglect....be my guest.
Again...whether you have a blood test and culture done on a Tuesday...or wait til the following Monday...the cost is the same. The antibiotic regime is the same.
What else ya got?
A headache. Bickering with nit-picky, word twisting, defense lawyer wannabes does it to me every time. Enjoy the rest of the thread.
Every time? Does this happen to you a lot?
And, on the other occasions when this has happened...did you respond w/ deflections and name calling then as well?
Oh, and BTW...it's not "word twisting" to quote someone directly and then point out the fallacious reasoning contained in their comment.
face it jimlo, the company distributed a faulty product, when someone is injured by a faulty product, they have the absolute right to seek redress for harm suffered by said faulty product.
funny how your sense of "responsibility" only extends to the individual, I guess companies can just throw out whatever garbage they want and if someone uses it, its the users fault. whatever it takes to make a buck (just like China), very one-sided illogic there
by your logic, if a drunk driver hits you and injures you, it was your fault because you could have chosen not to drive
As a "rock star"...He's probably eatten more "tainted Tuna" than most
Legally I'm not sure what leg he or anyone else has to stand on. Wherever sushi or any type of raw meat is served there are signs at the restaurant, blurbs in the menu, etc., saying that you are cosuming something that is not cooked and to eat at your own risk. I love sushi and raw oysters, and, knock on wood, I've never gotten sick from it, but I do not eat it for eat least a week before a big meeting, vacation - not even the cooked sushi out of fear of cross-contamination.
FWIW... he's not suing the restaurant ...he's suing the fishery which packaged the salmonella-infected fish. Their negligence is (allegedly) responsible for his illness.
And actually, the type of disclaimer signs & blurbs you mention don't negate the restaurants liability either. If someone takes ill due to improper food handling...unsanitary conditions, staff hygiene or some other controllable element...the infected person can still litigate.
Interestingly enough a disclaimer does not absolve anyone of responsibility, it provides a warning but does not mean you can't get compensation.
That's the point I'm trying to make. Even safe handling of sushi can still result in food-born illnesses more so than in regular food prep. It's just a risk I wouldn't be willing to take if I was embarking on a tour or didn't have health insurance.
maybe it would make his music (if u want to call it that) a little more tolerable.
Have you actually listened to his band or are you just being a dope?
I got sick from sushi once, and was so sick that I wanted to die. Seriously. I don't know what I had, but it only lasted 24 hrs. Almost went to the hospital, but the worst was over after 6 hrs. Then is was just occasional diareah and I was very weak and nausous. I'm stupid and still eat sushi. Out of probably 300 times I've gone out for sushi, I've only been sick once. I've been sick a lot more times from food that wasn't sushi, so i guess its just being at the wrong place at the wrong time kind of deal
Oh man. Yuk. That's a bad feeling. Never had a problem with sushi. Saki? Yes. Sushi? No Ha!
You wrote "Taint" :D
Heavy metal? Eating sushi?? Perhaps he should rename Attila 'Spinal Tap'. I do hope the delicate dears have some decent spring water and sprouts backstage.
sounds kinda funny that a HEAVY METAList would be eating sushy, his reputation might be questioned I wonder does he eat Quiche too ?
There is nothing "girly" about either sushi or quiche. One is raw meat; the other is a pie made of eggs, meat, and cheese. A f*cking whole breakfast in a PIE.
For what? For being open-minded to other types of food? Seriously, what is that statement supposed to mean?? I know people from bodybuilders to doctors who consume sushi. I don't understand your point.
Maybe it was the 'music' - and I use the term in most liberal sense possible - that made him sick.
It certainly sickens most of us.
Which Attila songs in particular do you find so offensive? Myself, I've never heard the band and can't comment, so I'm interested in your specific impressions. Or are you just making a blanket judgment on anything with the word "metal" in it? Rash generalizations "sicken most of us."
Heavy Metal is like most other music; some sucks, some is great! And the great stuff is quite addicting.
ATTILA????? I have always been a metal fan but who the hell are they? SUSHI SUCKS TOO!!!
Look them up on youtube, they are pretty crazy. I suggest listening to Rage, Payback, or White Lightning.
I bet he wants his food cooked now!!!
Cook it!
A little bit of a stretch calling this guy a metal "star", msnbc. James Hetfield is a star. Maynard James Keenan is a star. Ozzy Osbourne is a star. Dio was a star.
This guy is an asterisk, at best.
Agreed. Which is likely why msnbc referred to him as a "heavy metal singer"...not a heavy metal "star".
Link from the front page:
Heavy metal star sings blues over tainted sushi
Anything else you'd care to add?
Oh, excuse me. I read the title of the article (Heavy Metal Singer Slammed by Salmonella Sushi) and the article itself which never mentions the word "star." Very rarely do I go back and read links when I've already a headline and an article in its entirety. Silly me. And who cares if MSNBC calls the guy a star anyway? BFD.
Kat, no one was talking to you. When I want your opinion, I'll take my dick out of your mouth.
Surely. You are correct...the link does refer to him as a "star"...even if the story itself doesn't...so the error was mine.
And one more thing...
...enjoy your suspension.
I probably have another couple of hours before Tyler banhammers me. NBD.
James Hetfield... LOL...
Yes. James Hetfield. The guy is one of the founding fathers of thrash metal. Metallica is arguably the greatest metal band of all time. So St. Anger was a sh!tty album... that doesn't make Master of Puppets any less great.
Chris-629698 banned. Out of chances.
There were all kinds of warnings about contaminated Yellow Fin Tuna in Sushi restaurants, guess this guy doesn't read...
Actually, Tainted Sushi would make a great name for a Metal band....
Meh. How about Sushied Taint?
HOLD THE PHONE!!! Heavy Metal is back?!!!!
Uh, yeah. Where have you been? Avenged Sevenfold, All That Remains, etc., are all modern metal bands that are pretty huge at the moment, who play good old-fashioned metal with dueling guitars and everything. Hell, A7X even had Mike Portnoy as their drummer for a while.
Iron @!$%#ing Maiden still kicks ass too.
You know, I'm a huge metal fan, but for some reason, I've never really been able to get into Iron Maiden. I even saw them live about seven years ago, and it still didn't do it for me. Not sure why.
They really do stand apart from metal in general, with a very unique sound and approach to their music. Frankly, it is metal for geeks, I admit it. But seriously, they have put out four awesome albums in the new millenium, and they are as good as they ever were.
Metal never went away; it was just driven underground in the US when grunge came along. American bands like Dream Theater and Symphony X have done well overseas throughout the '90s and '00s, and European bands like Opeth and Pagan's Mind have released truly brilliant music for years. You just have to get away from hit radio to find good metal. The Internet is your friend!
gee, this story doesn't look or sound like it was written by a PR department at all!! in related news, the drummer for another obscure band, Vykyng, woke up with a headache today. it's estimated that 1 in 13 people wake up with headaches every morning. Vykyng was started in 2006 and has 2 full length albums and a 4 song Christmas EP to their credit. Most people take ibuprofen for headaches. information on Vykyng, but not headaches, can be found at www.vykyng.com .
Who?
As a working musician, I want to know who his publicist is. Here's a no name rocker, who happens to get sick eating sushi (and yes, you eat it at your own risk) and get national media coverage. Brilliant. I'm sure they will sell more albums and more people will go their shows as a result.
Chances are he doesn't have one. After all, he doesn't even have health insurance. I believe this story was picked up by MSNBC because he's suing and that's all. He could have been some random pharmaceutical salesman who was at a convention in Louisiana, ate sushi, got sick, couldn't compete in the scavenger hunt and decided to sue based on the fact that he missed an opportunity to win a Carnival Cruise for all we know. The didn't run the story based on what he does or his status. The real star of this story is the tainted sushi.