On July 8th, Mr. Morgenstein was rushed to Riverside Regional Hospital by ambulance. Over the next 10 days his condition deteriorated to “critically ill” status. Blood cultures returned positive for listeria bacteria. Repeat cultures, including a cerebral spinal fluid culture, confirmed listeria meningitis. While in the hospital, Gunter also developed a fever, elevated heart rate, grossly declining red blood counts, and sepsis.
By July 18th, Gunter had suffered severe brain damage and doctors informed the family that he would not recover. Gunter passed away later that day.
Virginia Health officials later confirmed that the listeria found in Gunter’s blood and spinal cultures was an exact genetic match to the listeria found in contaminated Boar’s Head products. Boar’s Head has since issued a recall of all products, including liverwurst, manufactured at its Jarratt, Virginia facility due to potential listeria contamination.
To date, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (“CDC) has identified 57 victims from 18 states who have suffered from listeria poisoning from contaminated Boar’s Head products. All have been hospitalized, and nine deaths have been reported.
Gunter’s son, Garshon, today issued the following statement: “My family is devastated. Dad was the kind of person who always had a smile on his face, a kind word for a stranger, and a big hug for all of us. We hope that through the legal process we can make Boar’s Head and other lunch meat products safer for future consumers.”
Food Safety Attorney Ron Simon Issues Statement for Victims and Establishes Listeria Claim Center
National food safety attorney Ron Simon, who represents the Morgenstein Family and several other victims of the outbreak, issued the following statement: “No one should die from eating a sandwich. Our hearts go out to the Morgensteins and others who have suffered from this outbreak. Through this lawsuit and others, we will determine what went wrong at Boar’s Head, why what should have been routine product and environmental testing failed to detect deadly listeria in Boar’s Head products, and what steps can be taken to ensure that this does not happen again.”
Mr. Simon and his law firm have established a Listeria Claim Center to assist victims in the outbreak. The Listeria Claim Center can be reached toll-free at 1-888-335-4901, or at https://www.ronsimonassociates.com/.
About Food Safety Attorney Ron Simon
Over the last 25 years, Ron Simon and his colleagues have prosecuted thousands of food poisoning cases for victims across the United States. His work has resulted in numerous upgrades to food safety procedures in Fortune 500 companies and in legislation designed to protect consumers from dangerous food-borne pathogens.
Mr. Simon and his clients have been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and virtually all other major television networks and print media. Mr. Simon and his legal team have collected over $800,000,000 for their clients. He regularly publishes articles about food safety and litigation at www.foodpoisoningnews.com which are read by viewers in over 180 countries.
Through litigation, media commentary, and his food poisoning publications, Mr. Simon relentlessly challenges food manufacturers, distributors, and restaurants to do a better job in making our food safe.
For media inquiries or more information on the Listeria outbreak and ongoing litigation, please contact Ron Simon directly at (713) 819-8116 or [email protected].
SOURCE Ron Simon & Associates
