Veronika Waterbury was helping her mother cook dinner over Labor Day weekend. They made pesto sauce, using pine nuts. Veronika also munched on the nuts as they cooked.

Then she ate the leftovers the next day. Within hours, she became violently ill.

Twice, the 16-year-old was treated in the Emergency Room for extreme pain, shakiness and dehydration. She lost weight. The sight of food made her physically ill.

A few days later tests revealed she had Salmonella. The leftover pesto sauce also tested positive for the bacteria.

But it was only after a massive recall of the pine nuts that Veronika and her mother learned their illnesses were linked to the tainted nuts.

Now they are suing the New Jersey Company that supplied the turkish pine nuts. They are asking for $75,000 in damages, for pain and suffering and medical costs.

Their lawyer, Paul Nunes, of Underberg and Kessler Attorneys, says this is about accountibility. He says the company that supplied the tainted pine nuts needs to pay for the negligence that caused these illnesses.

Veronika says she was on pain medication for weeks and still is cautious whenever she eats anything.

There are 20 known cases of Salmonella in Monroe County, linked to the turkish pine nuts.