An elderly Missouri couple has filed the first lawsuit related to the recent listeria outbreak linked to Boar’s Head meats sliced at deli counters, which sickened nearly three dozen people and caused two deaths.
Patrick and Sue Fleming are seeking upward of $25,000 for injuries and damages from Boar’s Head and Schnucks Markets for medical expenses, “loss of enjoyment of life” and “damage to the marital relationship,” according to the complaint filed in St. Louis circuit court.
“Plaintiff Patrick Fleming has lost the love, services, consortium, comfort, instruction, guidance, counsel, and support of his spouse, which he would have received in the usual course of his married life,” the suit said.
After eating Boar’s Head liverwurst Patrick, 76, purchased at Schnucks Markets in Ballwin, Mo., in June, Sue, 88, became “deathly ill,” per the complaint.
She reported experiencing “nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramping, and, most disturbingly, intense whole-body aches, shaking, and muscle weakness.”
Sue received “intensive treatment” in a nearby hospital, where she remained “critically ill and hospitalized for nine days,” per the complaint.
Upon her release, she was transferred to a rehabilitation center, where she “attempted to regain her pre-infection baseline” for 11 days.
The octogenarian alleges she still suffers “from the effects of her infection, including an array of neurological symptoms, fatigue, and overall weakness.”
The Flemings are suing Boar’s Head and Schnucks for manufacturing defect and negligence among other causes of action.
On Friday, Boar’s Head recalled 207,528 pounds of liverwurst and other deli meats produced between June 11 and July 17. Stop & Shop then said it was temporarily closing all of its store delis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 34 people in 13 states have been sickened in the recent listeria outbreak. Thirty-three of them were hospitalized and two died from their infections. Twelve of the victims were in New York.
Most people recover after three days and rarely become seriously ill, but of the 1,600 annual cases, about 260 people die each year, according to the CDC.
People who are most at risk of serious infection include those who are pregnant, who can have miscarriages; newborns; adults aged 65 and older; and people with weakened immune systems.
Boar’s Head and Schnucks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
