When food is purchased at a store, consumers trust that it is safe to eat. All too often, that is not the case, as people can be sickened or even die from eating contaminated food. There are instances when the contamination is due to the negligence of the product manufacturer or someone else responsible for the food before it reaches the consumer. One person here in Texas recently died after eating eggs that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say contained listeria. The CDC wants to warn the public about the defective product.
It decided to issue an alert for hard-boiled eggs from a certain out-of-state company after many people became sick due to consuming the eggs. The illnesses happened in five different states, with four people requiring hospitalization and one person dying. In one case, a mother was infected after eating the eggs while pregnant, affecting her newborn. Fortunately, the child survived.
The company in question has not issued a recall for the product, so the CDC decided to alert the public. It advised families to throw out any store-bought hard-boiled eggs or any products made with hard-boiled eggs, no matter what the date of purchase or use-by date may be. They want to especially caution anyone on dialysis, pregnant women, seniors over the age of 65 and anyone else at a higher risk of a listeria infection. There is no word on how the contamination may have occurred in the first place.
An infection like this due to a defective product could happen to almost any family, and if it were to result in someone's death, the family may want to consider their legal options. They may want to file a wrongful death claim against any parties deemed responsible. A successfully-litigated claim could result in monetary damages that may be useful in covering expenses such as outstanding medical bills, funeral costs and other financial losses. An attorney here in Texas can advise families with questions about this area of the law.