SMITHFIELD, Va. — A Smithfield man who says he spent two weeks in the hospital with listeria after eating Boar’s Head meat products in July is now suing the company for more than $48 million.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Robert Reposa, is the third against Boar’s Head on behalf of a local person following the listeria outbreak that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration traced back to a plant in Jarratt, Va.
Watch: Boar's Head to close Virginia plant indefinitely, discontinue liverwurst permanently
At least nine people have died and nearly 60 have been hospitalized in 18 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
"This is a dark moment in our company’s history," Boar's Head said in a statement on September 13. "But we intend to use this as an opportunity to enhance food safety programs not just for our company, but for the entire industry."
Reposa’s suit alleges he bought Boar's Head products at a Smithfield Kroger in July around the same time the FDA announced the listeria outbreak.
Watch: Family mourns Holocaust survivor who died from listeria linked to Boar’s Head
After eating the Boar’s Head products, Reposa went to an urgent care center on August 8 “with complaints of severe stomach pain, vomiting, fever, chills, and extreme diarrhea,” unaware of the fact he had listeria, the lawsuit says.
When his condition did not improve, he went to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and was later admitted to Sentara Heart Hospital where he was diagnosed with a listeria infection, the lawsuit alleges.
Reposa has “previous heart issues,” making his exposure to listeria “extraordinarily dangerous and resulted in his hospitalization of 14 days,” according to the complaint. “Plaintiff continues to suffer to this day and likely has suffered permanent damage as a result of this exposure.”
Listeria infections have been traced back to conditions at the Jarratt facility, which Boar’s Head announced last week would be closing “indefinitely.” It also said it is discontinuing its liverwurst product permanently, which several of the infected people had eaten prior to falling ill.
Watch: Boar's Head plant linked to deadly outbreak broke food safety rules dozens of times, records show
Records from a U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed there was repeated noncompliance with federal regulations on the facility, as well as the presence of insects, mold, liquid dripping from the ceiling, and meat and fat residue on equipment and surroundings.
“They had places where listeria could really populate," said Bill Marler, who helped file a lawsuit for a Williamsburg woman named Barbara Schmidt who also contracted listeria. "They had meat juices on the wall, blood on the wall, old meat on the floor, and condensation from the ceilings.”
Schmidt is suing Boar’s Head for $10 million after spending nearly a week in the ICU.
Watch: $10M federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Williamsburg woman hospitalized in Boar's Head listeria outbreak
The complaint says Boar's Head food caused Schmidt to incur "substantial" medical bills, and that she'll continue to suffer lost wages, significant pain and emotional anguish due to their product. It brings forth claims of negligence, recklessness, failure to warn, and other charges.
"There was a great deal of concern that she had suffered brain injury because listeria causes meningitis and causes brain swelling and that's what kills many of these people," Marler said.
On August 30, the Morgenstein family filed a wrongful death lawsuit after 88-year-old Gunter Morgenstein, a Holocaust survivor and hair stylist in Newport News, died from listeria allegedly traced back to Boar’s Head liverwurst.
Watch: Family of NN man who died from listeria hopes Boar's Head lawsuit brings change
Garshon, Gunter’s son, hopes the lawsuit will inspire some change.
"It's a little bit of relief, as far as the fact that we're making progress," he told News 3. "I'm trying to be a voice for him, because me and my mom both know that this is something that he definitely would have wanted us to do...wanted to try to fight for him.”
In addition to closing the Jarratt plant and eliminating liverwurst from its product line, Boar’s Head said it is also forming a Food Safety Council of food safety experts to help inform its processes and operations.
