The national food safety law firm Pritzker Hageman has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a 73-year-old Ohio woman who was sickened in the Salmonella Adelaide outbreak linked to pre-cut melon produced at Caito Foods, LLC in Indianapolis. The lawsuit (Case Number 3:18-cv-01333) was filed on June 12, 2018, in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio.
According to the lawsuit, plaintiff Diane Marcinek and her daughter purchased a pre-cut fruit product produced by Caito from a Walmart store in Findlay, Ohio. One day after she ate the fruit, Marcinek developed symptoms of a Salmonella infection which include stomach cramps and diarrhea. When these symptoms persisted and worsened over the course of several days she saw her doctor and was admitted to the hospital with a pervasive Salmonella infection. She was eventually discharged to a rehab center where she remains.
“Several large and deadly outbreaks have occurred during the past decade as a result of adulterated fruit and vegetables,” said Fred Pritzker, president of Pritzker Hageman, noting recent outbreaks linked to cantaloupe, apples, lettuce, and spinach. “We’ve represented hundreds of people from these outbreaks, many involving serious injury or death. It’s unconscionable that these outbreaks
continue, especially when virtually all of them are preventable by following basic safety and sanitation practices.”
Health officials have identified the pre-cut melon as the source of a Salmonella outbreak in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio that has
sickened at least 60 people. On June 8, 2013, Caito Foods recalled pre-cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and pre-cut fruit medley products containing one or more of these melons. The recalled products were distributed to Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio and sold by a number of grocery store chains including Walmart, Kroger, Costco, WholeFoods/Amazon, Jay C, Payless, Trader Joe’s, Walgreens, and others.
Pritzker Hageman, P.A., is a national food safety law firm that represents clients who have been sickened by contaminated food. Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 or this contact form.
Updated June 12, 2018: This post was updated to reflect a CDC update that Iowa should be included in the list of states where the melon was distributed.