Health Law

Marler Clark Files Second Salmonella-tainted Black Pepper Salami Case

By Bill Marler

A second victim of the nationwide outbreak of Salmonella linked to pepper in salami meats has come forward to file a lawsuit against Daniele International Inc., which produced the recalled salami, and against Wholesome Spice, which supplied the tainted pepper. The CDC reports that currently 207 are confirmed ill in 42 states, with the actual total likely much higher.

'The CDC is the first to say that only about 3% of Salmonella illnesses are ever culture-confirmed, so the real number of victims of this outbreak is in the thousands,' said the attorney for the victims, William Marler. 'Most people with Salmonella never know they have it, and try to ‘tough it out' as a stomach flu, but Salmonella can get ugly, and it is important to visit a health care professional if you have consumed the recalled product or are experiencing symptoms of Salmonella infection.'

Harold Hanks purchased Salami products made by Daniele at a Walmart in Osage Beach, Missouri. He fell ill within a day of consuming the products, with nausea and diarrhea that continued to worsen. After medications prescribed by his physician failed to give him any relief, Mr. Hanks went to the emergency room at his local hospital, where he was treated for severe dehydration and bacterial infection. Stool samples taken during his hospital visit returned positive for the Salmonella montevideo outbreak strain. He continues to recover from his illness. His lawsuit was filed by Marler Clark and by Kansas attorney Roger Nail of Goza and Honnold.

'Salmonella infections have changed — and taken — lives,' continued Marler. 'Our clients from the terrible outbreak of Salmonella in Peanut Butter have just learned that their lawsuits will be settled and bills paid from a twelve million dollar insurance policy. I'm glad we were able to help these people — even after the Peanut Corporation of America declared bankruptcy — but the best insurance policy any company can have is exemplary food safety practices.'

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on February 03, 2010 (boomark / email).