July 26, 2024
Posted by: OFT Food Safety & Injury Lawyers
OFT Lawyers are representing victims of the Boar’s Head Listeria outbreak. Below are answers to the most frequently asked questions about the lawsuit.
The case is about Listeria contamination of deli meat. As of July 25, 2024, the contaminated Boar’s Head products have already sickened 34 people in 13 states. Listeria causes severe illness or death. Based on the USDA’s report, 33 people who were sickened by Boar’s Head were hospitalized and two have been killed. We know that Boar’s Head caused the outbreak for two reasons: an epidemiological investigation implicated deli meat, particularly Boar’s Head liverwurst, and Maryland Department of Health testing of Boar’s Head product was positive for Listeria. Boar’s Head recalled hundreds of thousands of pounds of its products.
The USDA’s outbreak and recall announcement is here.
The CDC’s Outbreak page is here.
The main defendant in this case is Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc., the company that manufactures deli meats under the “Boar’s Head” label. We are suing Boar’s Head because we allege their products caused a large outbreak of human illnesses.
We are also suing the retail delis where the contaminated product was sold. Many people were sickened because the Listeria from Boar’s Head contaminated other products within the deli – this is called “cross contamination” and often can be easily prevented at the delis. The product was sold at many delis, including those in grocery stores. The exact parties in your case will therefore depend on where you purchased the product.
Under federal law, it is illegal to sell ready-to-eat deli meat with any Listeria on it. By producing and selling contaminated deli meat, Boar’s Head violated the federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. We are also bringing traditional product liability and negligence claims. We believe that Boar’s Head did not adequately implement hygiene, sanitation and testing programs at its production facility, and these failures led to the contamination.
Yes, if you tested positive for Listeria and consumed deli meat in the months before your illness. If you have symptoms, it is critically important that you get tested for the pathogen. A positive test allows the health department to fully investigate your case and can confirm that you were sickened by Boar’s Head. Information about diagnosis and testing of Listeria infections is here: https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/diagnosis.html
It is important to understand that this is NOT a class action. A class action puts everyone together in the same group. This only makes sense where the injuries are the same or very similar. In Listeria outbreaks like this one, the injuries vary widely among individuals: from miscarriage and death, to brain injury and blood infection. We represent only individual clients and will give your individual case personal attention. The advantage of our firm is we are already in the litigation process with some of our clients and can use that experience to maximize the recovery for you.
Understandably, this is a very common question, but it is impossible to answer in general terms. Any lawyer who promises a certain amount or blindly gives numbers should not be trusted. Each case is unique and requires careful analysis. That said, there are certain factors that impact how much your case is worth. Those include: the amount and type of medical treatment you received; whether your injuries are permanent; the amount of future medical care you will require; and what we learn about the root cause of the contamination at Boar’s Head.
OFT Lawyers provide free consultations if you are interested in bringing a case against Boar’s Head.
