Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Boar’s Head After Man Dies of Listeria

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in Florida after a man died of listeria. According to the lawsuit, he contracted the disease after consuming a Boar’s Head product. This is a new wrongful death lawsuit and the first to allege an infection contracted from a product other than the company’s liverwurst. The lawsuit has been filed against Boar’s Head Provision Co. (“Boar’s Head”) which manufactured the tainted meat and Publix Supermarkets which made the tainted meat available to the public. The 79-year-old decedent allegedly lost his life after eating Boar’s Head ham purchased from a Tampa-area Publix grocery store.

The lawsuit alleges that the decedent’s wife purchased Boar’s Head Tavern Ham and Yellow American Cheese from a Publix store in Brooksville, FL, twice in April of 2024.

According to the lawsuit, the decedent began experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, fatigue, and fever shortly after consuming the allegedly tainted ham. At this point, he had no reason to suspect a serious infection and simply waited for his symptoms to subside. After waiting a while, the symptoms didn’t pass, so the decedent headed to the hospital on May 2. He was diagnosed with listeriosis which progressed over the next two days into meningitis and sepsis. The decedent died on May 5, leaving behind his wife, sister, three sons, seven grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

Elements of negligence 

On July 26, Boar’s Head announced the recall of 200,000 pounds of liverwurst that was processed at its Jarratt, Virginia facility. The company later expanded the recall to include all products produced at that facility, “out of an abundance of caution,” according to Boar’s Head. This lawsuit is the first to allege that a product other than liverwurst was tainted with listeria.

Companies that produce consumer products are strictly liable when their products cause death or injury to a member of the public. In cases like these, where you have a company that produces a food product, they can be sued when their product is tainted with a potentially deadly disease. In this case, you have a listeria outbreak that was likely caused by a lack of sanitary conditions at the facility where the meat was produced. In this case, the outbreak triggered a recall and a CDC investigation, which is now complete.

In its final update of the case, the CDC said a total of 61 people in 19 states became ill from the outbreak. According to the CDC, 60 people were hospitalized during the outbreak, and 10 people died. Boar’s Head will likely face several lawsuits and a USDA investigation into the cause of the outbreak at that particular facility in Jarratt, Virginia.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Personal Injury Lawyer Today 

Florin Gray represents the interests of those who have been injured due to the negligence of another party. Call our Tampa personal injury lawyers today to schedule a consultation, and we can begin discussing your case right away.

Sources:

supermarketperimeter.com/articles/12025-cdc-concludes-boars-head-listeria-outbreak-investigation

mysuncoast.com/2024/10/24/his-painful-untimely-death-was-completely-preventable-new-boars-head-wrongful-death-lawsuit/