Marler Clark, the food safety law firm, files $10,000,000 Punitive Damages claim on behalf of woman who spent six days in ICU after contracting Listeria from Boar’s Head Liverwurst

(Seattle) A federal lawsuit has been filed against Boar’s Head Provisions of Sarasota, Florida in the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of Barbara Schmidt of Virginia, who spent six days in ICU and weeks in recovery after consuming Boar’s Head Liverwurst. She tested positive for Listeria, and it is a match to the outbreak strain.  Cause No. Case 3:24-cv-00631. 

In addition to seeking compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering, Ms. Schmidt is seeking $10,000,000 in punitive damages against Boar’s Head for allowing unsafe conditions to remain in the plant that lead to this Listeria outbreak.

“The years of inspection reports (Here are the Inspection Reports in PDF.) leave little doubt that the Boar’s Head plant’s food safety plan must have been non-existent, “ said food safety attorney, Bill Marler. “It is hard to wrap your head around how food could be produced in these conditions by this company and under the gaze of FSIS inspectors,” added Marler.

According to the CDC, as of August 27, a total of 57 people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria have been reported from 18 states – Including: Arizona 1, Florida 3, Georgia 2, Illinois 1, Indiana 1, Maryland 8, Massachusetts 3, Minnesota 1, Missouri 3, New Jersey 5, New Mexico 1, New York 17, North Carolina 1, Pennsylvania 2, South Carolina 2, Tennessee 1, Virginia 4, and Wisconsin 1. One person got sick during their pregnancy and remained pregnant after recovering. So far, nine deaths have been reported, including one in Illinois, one in New Jersey, one in Virginia, one in Florida, one in Tennessee, one in New Mexico, one in New York, and two in South Carolina.

Boar’s Head has recalled over 7,000,000 pounds of its deli meat. This recall expansion includes 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under Defendant’s Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. These items include meat intended for slicing at retail delis as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations. These products have “sell by” dates ranging from 29-JUL-2024 through 17-OCT-24. View full product list. The products subject to recall were distributed to retail locations nationwide and some were exported to the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Panama. The products shipped to retailers bear establishment number “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.

Bill Marler has also called on the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate committees to use their authority to get to the bottom of the Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak that has sickened at least 57, killing 9 to date.

Marler Clark is also representing several other victims or the families of deceased victims.  More lawsuits will be filed in the coming week.

William “Bill” Marler has been a food safety lawyer and advocate since the 1993 Jack-in-the-Box E. coli Outbreak which was chronicled in the book, “Poisoned” and in the recent Netflix documentary by the same name. Bill work has been profiled in the New Yorker, “A Bug in the System;” the Seattle Times, “30 years after the deadly E. coli outbreak, A Seattle attorney still fights for food safety;” the Washington Post, “He helped make burgers safer, Now he is fighting food poisoning again;” and several others. Dozens of times a year Bill speaks to industry and government throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, China and Australia on why it is important to prevent foodborne illnesses.  He is also a frequent commentator on food litigation and food safety on Marler Blog. Bill is also the publisher of Food Safety News.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.