Foodborne Illness Lawyer Interviews

Houston, TX: As the effects of the recent listeria outbreak linked to the recent cantaloupe recall continue to spread, more reports of illness and death are coming in, including reports of health effects suffered by pregnant women. Aimee Robert, attorney with Johnson Law Group, says this listeria outbreak, which led to a recall on cantaloupe, is particularly dangerous.

Dallas, TX: Safeway is the target of a national class-action suit alleging it has failed its duty to notify customers when they have bought recalled food items. "All their competitors make the effort to contact customers," says Steve Gardner, the chief litigator for the Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). "Safeway just doesn?t make an effort to do it.

Chicago, IL: Attorney Ken Moll thinks it is high time the egg farms of America cleaned up for good. "Salmonella enteritis is the leading cause of foodborne illness in this country," says Moll. "And most of those cases from shell eggs. Farmers have not done a good job of self-policing."

Roanoke, WV: In January 2009 federal officials linked products manufactured by The Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) to the Salmonella foodborne illness outbreak that sickened 677 people in 45 states and killed nine since early September 2008. Attorney Ron Simon of Simon and Luke has been in negotiations on behalf of his clients since April. "The court has finally approved our settlement process," says Simon. "If you qualify you are entitled to part of this $12 million without having to file a lawsuit."

Blakely, GA: Yesterday attorney Ron Simon investigated one plant at the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in Texas and the second PCA plant in Georgia today. The evidence that the PCA's products were contaminated is overwhelming. And he has photos from both plants—incriminating evidence indeed. (The photo on the left shows a dead rat and several roaches.)

Houston, TX: Texas attorney Ron Simon finds himself, yet again, knee deep in a barrel full of peanut butter salmonella litigation cases. Although the current outbreak involving the Peanut Butter Corporation of America is grabbing the headlines now, there have been problems in the past with salmonella tainted peanut butter products. Over the last several years, Simon's firm, Simon & Luke in Houston, has handled hundreds of peanut butter related cases.

Cortez, CO: On August 1, attorney Bill Marler of Marler Clark filed the first lawsuit stemming from the Salmonella St. Paul outbreak that was originally blamed on tomatoes and has now been traced to jalapeno peppers. So far the outbreak has sickened at least 1,319 people and the investigation is ongoing. The complaint was filed on behalf of Brian Grubbs against Wal-Mart and for the time being, an unknown supplier.