Boar’s Head Sued After Holocaust Survivor Dies From Listeria

A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against Virginia-based food producer Boar’s Head after one of its products allegedly led to the death of an elderly man.

Gunter Morgenstein, 88, a Holocaust survivor, was diagnosed with listeria and sepsis after consuming a liverwurst product produced by Boar’s Head in July this year, a release issued by his legal representatives reads. When his condition “deteriorated rapidly,” he died 10 days after being admitted to hospital.

His death is one of several linked to the largest outbreak of listeria in the U.S. since 2011. According to the most recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 57 people have been hospitalized and nine have died after contracting the illness.

Now, the first wrongful death lawsuit related to the outbreak has been filed in Sarasota County, Florida, by the family of Morgenstein. Ron Simon, attorney for the family and other victims of the outbreak, said the deceased “was a very active and vibrant personality and was still working right up until his illness,” adding that he “should not have died from eating a sandwich.”

“Through this lawsuit and others, we will make sure that all listeria victims are fairly compensated for their losses,” he continued. “We will find out exactly how this happened and will force Boar’s Head to make sure it does not happen again.”

Newsweek has contacted Boar’s Head for comment via email.

In a previous statement made to Newsweek, Boar’s Head said, “The health and safety of our customers” is its “top priority.”

“Only our liverwurst product was found to possibly contain listeria monocytogenes. And, when we learned from the USDA [United States Department of Agriculture] that our Strassburger Brand Liverwurst has been positively linked to the national deli meat listeria monocytogenes outbreak we took immediate and decisive action.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we made the decision to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility, where our liverwurst product is made. We also made the decision to suspend ready-to-eat operations at this facility until further notice.”

It is not the first instance of legal action against the company in relation to the outbreak. In July, a Missouri couple filed a lawsuit after a woman became “deathly ill” after consuming an infected product.

Boar’s Head Recall

A Boar’s Head liverwurst product was first recalled on July 26 this year, and was expanded just days later to cover 71 products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29.

Anyone who has purchased an affected product should not consume it and either throw it away or return it to the place of purchase.

The CDC reports that listeria ranks as the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, contributing to approximately 1,600 food-poisoning cases and about 260 deaths annually.

Symptoms of listeria can emerge soon after exposure, but in some cases can take up to 10 weeks to develop, and the severity can vary depending on the individual and the infection site.

In most instances, the bacteria remain in the gut, leading to typical food-poisoning symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting. Other symptoms include fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions.