In November of 2014, a baby was born prematurely and diagnosed with Listeria monocytogenes. His mother had eaten a caramel apple tainted with Listeria bacteria while she was pregnant.
Our attorneys are helping the family sue the companies responsible for the Listeria infection (listeriosis). You can contact them for a free consultation about your Listeria case.
Defendants (companies being sued) are Bidart Brothers Apple Packing, Inc. and Smith’s Food & Drug Centers, Inc. Our attorneys filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court of the District of New Mexico (case number 1:15-cv-00019).
Our young client was in the hospital for 4 weeks and is still suffering from the Listeria infection. The family wants answers and some measure of justice for what happened. The outbreak strain of Listeria was found at the Bidart Brothers plant, which is rock-solid evidence that the contamination of the apples happened there.
In October of 2014, our client Cathy James (the mother) ate a caramel apple purchased from Smith’s Pharmacy located at 4016 Louisiana Boulevard Northeast, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87110. She was pregnant at the time. There is solid evidence that the caramel apple eaten by Cathy James contained Listeria monocytogenes.
By November 7, Cathy James started to have symptoms of a Listeria infection. Three days later, and months before her due date, she gave birth. The baby was born with Listeria and became very sick. He remained in the hospital for 4 weeks.
Health officials from the New Mexico Department of Health determined the Listeria monocytogenes strain that sickened the baby was the same as the one responsible for the multi-state caramel apple outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections (listeriosis).
The multi-state caramel apple outbreak has sickened at least 32 people from 11 states: Arizona (4), California (2), Minnesota (4), Missouri (5), Nevada (1), New Mexico (6), North Carolina (1), Texas (4), Utah (1), Washington (1), and Wisconsin (3). These people were diagnosed with listeriosis from October 17, 2014, to December 11, 2014. Ten of these cases were related to pregnancy.