PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County couple is suing Boar's Head and Publix, claiming contaminated deli meat completely upended their lives.
The lawsuit, filed this week in Palm Beach County, accuses the two companies of negligence and product liability for selling the victim, Michael Silberman, Boar's Head brand deli turkey at a Publix in Delray Beach, which the lawsuit alleges was contaminated with listeria.
The lawsuit claims Silberman suffered from meningitis, encephalitis, renal failure, muscle atrophy and cognitive impairment as a result of his diagnosed listeria infection after eating the meat. Silberman spent a month away from home, where was a caregiver for his wife, while he recovered from his illness in the hospital and a rehabilitation facility, according to the complaint.
The complaint goes on to claim that Silberman is left with ongoing impairments that have prevented him from living independently and caring for his wife.
According to the lawsuit, Silberman purchased the turkey 10 days before Boar's Head issued a recall of one of its liverwurst products on July 24 because it was found to be contaminated with listeria. The same day, Boar's Head recalled nine other products produced on the same line and same day as the liverwurst, according to the company's website.
Read the lawsuit below:
The website said the recall was expanded July 29 to include every item produced in the same facility as the liverwurst. A list of recalled Boar's Head products can be found here. Turkey is not on that list.
Boar's Head did not immediately respond to requests for comment from WPTV. Since the recall, the company issued a public apology, created a food safety advisory council and appointed a chief food safety advisor.
In response to an email from WPTV, a spokeswoman for Publix said, "It would be inappropriate for us to comment on pending litigation."
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