In a lawsuit filed by the family of the deceased Otis Adams Jr., a 79-year-old military veteran from Brooksville, accusations have surfaced that products from the popular deli brand Boar's Head are to blame for a lethal case of listeriosis. Adams' death has prompted a wrongful death suit against both Boar's Head and the grocery chain Publix, as he supposedly got sick after consuming their ham and cheese. The legal action was taken by Morgan & Morgan and was filed in a Sarasota County court on Wednesday, according to a report by WFLA.
The origins of the infection can be traced back to two separate purchases of Boar's Head Tavern Ham and Boar's Head Yellow American Cheese from a Publix store, both of which purportedly occurred in April. "Unfortunately, he suffered severe pain as the infection spread to his blood, brain and nervous system before ultimately killing him," said attorneys John Morgan, Mike Morgan and Harris Yegelwel in a statement obtained by WFLA. Adams initially waited to recover at home, but his condition worsened, prompting a subsequent hospitalization on May 2, where he subsequently passed away three days later.
Following the initial incidents, a July recall by Boar's Head of over 200,000 pounds of liverwurst from a Virginia facility gained attention. Subsequent investigations and quality concerns led Boar's Head to release a statement on July 30 expanding the recall to include all products from the same facility. This precaution ties into the wider narrative that problems may extend beyond only liverwurst products as suggested by this first wrongful death suit tied to a different type of deli meat. This claim is supported by FOX 13 reporting that Adams may have contracted listeriosis from other deli meats.
Seeking further details on the disturbing matter, the Tampa Bay Times reports that Adams' bloodwork indeed showed the presence of listeria, validating the family's concerns. On a related note, the lawsuit further poses serious questions regarding food safety and the potential breadth of Boar's Head's listeria outbreak that already has dramatically scaled to impact more than 40 of their products and to have shut down their Maryland-based production center. Publix, refusing to comment on ongoing legal matters, has kept silent amidst these allegations.
