Hi, my name is Fred Pritzker, I am an attorney and president of the law firm Pritzker Hageman, P.A. We are food safety lawyers who have helped many people diagnosed with listeriosis get compensation from companies that sold food tainted with Listeria monocytogenes, the bacteria that cause listeriosis.
Today I would like to share with you the five things you should do if you believe your loved one has developed a listeriosis infection.
- The first thing is, obviously, get your loved one to the doctor if they have any of the symptoms indicating a significant Listeria infection, which include high fever, stiff neck, confusion, severe headache, and/or light sensitivity.
- And the second thing is once you get your loved on to the doctor or hospital, make sure the appropriate testing is done to identify a listeriosis infection. This generally involves blood testing and/or a lumbar puncture, which is a test obtain cerebrospinal fluid that can be cultured for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
- The third thing is, if the test is positive, make sure you notify the state or local health department. Doctors and hospitals are typically required to do that, but you want to make sure that gets done.
- Fourth thing is to check to see if there are any recalls for products that your loved one may have consumed. You should also go to the refrigerator and look for any food products that are typically associated with Listeria outbreaks which include, soft cheeses, unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk, deli cold cuts, hotdogs and raw sprouts. If you do identify which product, or believe you know which one it is, make sure that you preserve the product so that it can be tested later.
- The fifth thing is make sure there is documentation showing that the product in question has been in fact purchased and then consumed, so look for any proof of purchase documentation credit card receipts, sales receipts etc.