A Williamsburg woman is the latest person to file a lawsuit against Boar's Head. Barbara Schmidt filed a lawsuit on September 6, 2024, alleging that she started to feel ill after purchasing and eating Boar's Head liverwurst deli meat on July 12, 2024.
Bill Marler, a food safety lawyer based in Settle, Washington, represents Schmidt and several others across the country impacted by the outbreak. In the lawsuit, Schmidt allegedly started feeling the pain on July 13, 2024.
"She bought some liverwurst at Harris Teeter, consumed it a few days later, became sick, and that progressed, and she started having headaches, neck aches," said Marler.
The lawsuit highlights numerous times Schmidt went to the hospital for treatment. Schmidt was seen in the Emergency Room at Williamsburg Regional Medical Center and was admitted from July 16 to July 19, 2024.
According to documents, she returned home but shortly went back to the hospital on July 20, 2024, because her temperature rose to 104 degrees. She was eventually hospitalized again through July 29, 2024.
During this visit, the lawsuit says Schmidt spent at least six days in ICU undergoing invasive procedures that were necessary to save her life.
"Listeria is really the second most deadly pathogen we deal with in the United States. Botulism, which is incredibly rare, has a much higher death rate, but listeria can kill about 15 to 20% of the people that it impacts," said Marler.
The outbreak is linked to the Boar's Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia. According to government documents, federal food inspectors found 69 violations at the plant in August. The company's website said all operations at that plant have been paused since the voluntary recall in July. After nine deaths and many who have fallen ill, Marler believes others should be held accountable.
"I think not only does Boar's Head bear responsibility for this outbreak, but I think also, really importantly, USDA needs to answer a lot of questions about why these inspectors allowed this plant to continue to operate despite ... notations that said that, you know, this is in a sense an accident waiting to happen," said Marler.
13News Now reached out to the company for a comment on this latest lawsuit, but we have yet to hear back.
However, the company released a statement in late August, where they expressed their sentiments and said that they were conducting an extensive investigation.
The family of 88-year-old Gunter Morgenstein from Newport News also filed a wrongful death claim against the company in August. The lawsuit states Morgenstein fell ill after eating Boar's Head Liverwurst. He was hospitalized and later died in July.