Yes, you can sue Blue Bell Creameries for Listeria if your infection can be linked to one of the company’s ice cream products. The company issued a recall of all of its products on April 20, 2015.
Health officials have reported 2 outbreaks of illness, one in Kansas and one in Texas. The CDC has also confirmed 2 additional cases, one in Arizona and one in Oklahoma. Others around the country may also have been sickened.
Kansas Listeria Outbreak
At least 5 patients at Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, Kansas, contracted Listeria infections (listeriosis) linked to Blue Bell Scoops, individually wrapped ice cream products. If you are a family member of one of the three patients who died, you may have a wrongful death claim. If you are one of the 2 survivors, you have a personal injury claim.
To have a claim means that there is sufficient evidence to file a lawsuit seeking compensation, which may include amounts for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, loss of companionship, and other damages.
During the outbreak investigation, the Texas Department of State Health Services collected product samples from the Blue Bell Creameries Brenham facility. Samples from Scoops tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Samples from 2 other products also tested positive. Those products, Chocolate Chip Country Cookie Sandwich and the Great Divide Bar, which are made on the same production line as Scoops.
Earlier, as part of routine testing procedure, the South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control tested samples of Chocolate Chip Country Cookie Sandwich and the Great Divide Bar and found 3 strains of Listeria monocytogenes that were genetically identical to those that had sickened patients at Via Christi in Wichita.
This is “smoking gun” evidence against Blue Bell Creameries.
Texas Illnesses
To date, the CDC has confirmed 3 case-patients from Texas, all of whom were hospitalized for unrelated problems when they ate the suspected products, manufactured at the company’s Oklahoma facility. These cases were reported from 2011 through 2014. CDC is looking at 3 additional people who may have been sickened from 2010 through 2012.
Outbreak May Grow
Blue Bell announced a recall of all of its ice cream products in the market due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. These products were distributed nationwide. Many of them were retrieved by the company, but consumers, retailers and institutions (hospitals, schools, etc.) may still have these products in their freezers.
It is possible that others who were diagnosed with listeriosis in the past were sickened by a Blue Bell product. It is also possible that others may eat a recalled product and get sick.
We are a national food safety law firm. Our Listeria lawyers represent clients throughout the U.S. No matter where you are in the country, you can click here now if you want a FREE case evaluation.
States: Alabama AL, Arizona AZ, Los Angeles, California CA, Colorado CO, Connecticut CT, Delaware DE, Florida FL, Georgia GA, Iowa IA, Illinois IL, Indiana IN, Kansas KS, Louisiana LA, Massachusetts MA, Maryland MD, Maine ME, Michigan MI, Minnesota MN, North Carolina NC, North Dakota ND, Nebraska NE, New Hampshire NH, New Jersey NJ, New York NY, Ohio OH, Oklahoma OK, Oregon OR, Pennsylvania PA, Rhode Island RI, South Carolina SC, South Dakota SD, Tennessee TN, Texas TX, Utah UT, Virginia VA, Washington WA, West Virginia WV, Wyoming WY.