Seattle Area Lawyer Files Lawsuits Over Salmonella Contaminated Peanut Butter
Marler's firm is not new to filing lawsuits concerning food borne-illnesses. Last year, the firm represented cases which included the E. coli outbreak in packaged spinach. The firm specializes in cases of food borne-illnesses and has been asked to represent some 2,500 people. Marler said more than twelve of his clients reside in Western Washington. Two of the residents of Western Washington have been named in his lawsuit, which was filed in federal courts Tuesday in Seattle. There are other cases which were filed in Missouri and Texas.
Last week Marler and his firm had filed the first lawsuit concerning the contaminated peanut butter. The salmonella outbreak has affected close to three hundred people in thirty-nine states since August. As of Tuesday, there have been no reported deaths related to the outbreak. The lawsuits are aimed at receiving compensation for people who fell ill and were not hospitalized. Marler has said the more severe cases are going to be handled individually. Marler claims one of his clients is a soldier deployed to Iraq. The soldier ate the peanut butter after his family sent it to him in a care package.
Federal health investigators have stated the suspected sources of the peanut butter are the Peter Pan and Wal-Mart's Great Value brands of peanut butter. Both brands of peanut butter are products manufactured by ConAgra. The recalled peanut butter had product code number starting with 2111.
Chris Kircher, spokesman for ConAgra foods, has refrained from commenting on the lawsuit, which was filed in Missouri. Kircher gave the following statement regarding the incident, "We take any consumer concern over the recall very seriously, because consumer safety is our number one priority." ConAgra spokeswoman, Melissa Baron, could not speak about the specifics of the Texas lawsuit because the company had not received any information.
Marler said he received calls from 500 people who were asking for his firm to represent them in the peanut butter cases. Marler says he will be filing more cases in the following days. Once the cases are filed, Marler says the firm will try to consolidate them.
Each year, approximately 40,000 people fall ill to salmonella in the United States. Out of the 40,000, about 600 die from the food borne illness. Symptoms of salmonella include: diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain, and vomiting. The only other known case of a salmonella outbreak in peanut butter occurred in Australia in the mid-1990s. The cause of the Australian outbreak was unsanitary plant environments.
Sources: KCPQ TV and The Associated Press
Published by Kristina Jones
Kristina Jones hails from Fort Lewis, WA where her husband proudly serves his country. She has a degree in Criminal Justice. She also has two young daughters and enjoys writing about almost anything. View profile
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2 Comments
Post a CommentHmmm, maybe some information on whether this was a class-action lawsuit would have been helpful but that may have bogged down into a legal discussion more than a news piece. Your style is definitely reminiscent of reading my local paper. I'm looking forward to reading more of your articles.
very interesting read. this is good to know saying that some of the bad peanut butter made it to the erie area. perhaps this is my way to cash in. MONEY!