A team of attorneys, already working on other Salmonella food poisoning cases in Georgia, today filed a lawsuit on behalf of a client who became ill after eating peanut butter.
The client, Billy Duren of Homer, Georgia, required medical treatment and hospitalization after he experienced extreme nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain as a result of eating Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.
The suit was filed against ConAgra Foods, Inc., the manufacturer of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter that has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak that has affected people in 39 states. All of the peanut butter in question was produced at ConAgra’s factory in Sylvester, Georgia, which is under investigation by the FDA.
Attorneys from the firms Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC, of Atlanta, Georgia, and the Law Offices of Eric H. Weinberg, of New Brunswick, NJ, are collaborating in an effort to provide quality representation to individuals who have been harmed by exposure to the contaminated peanut butter. Mr. Weinberg is Of Counsel to the firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, with offices in Philadelphia, PA, and Red Bank, NJ.
This same team of attorneys has recent experience filing lawsuits on behalf of victims of Salmonella food poisoning in an unrelated case. They represent a large number of individuals who became ill after eating at a fast food chain restaurant in Valdosta, Georgia. The team filed the first case in this food borne illness outbreak in mid-January, and expects to file dozens more.
Mr. Weinberg and Mr. Childers have been contacted by injured parties and other attorneys from all over the country about the peanut butter salmonella outbreak, Mr. Weinberg said.
“We are carefully reviewing each inquiry to determine if we can assist people who believe they have suffered harm from this product,” he explained.
Mr. Weinberg has longstanding experience in the prosecution of class action and mass tort litigation involving Food and Drug Law. As a Visiting Lecturer at Rutgers University, he has taught about FDA-related litigation for several years.
Mr. Weinberg recently created the website, www.FoodPoisoning.com, and the blog, www.SalmonellaLawsuit.com, to provide consumers with much-needed information. The food poisoning site covers the wide range of food borne pathogens and the illnesses they cause, as well as related outbreaks and recalls, while the blog focuses specifically on Salmonella, much in the news over the past few months.
Andrew Childers is a partner at Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC. The firm has represented thousands of clients in complex litigation involving defective products and has gained a national reputation. Mr. Childers will be speaking about food product litigation at an upcoming national conference, and is a frequent guest lecturer for graduate level courses at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University on the topic of litigation related to public health policy, including food borne illness litigation.
Chris Placitella, of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, is nationally recognized for his litigation and resolution expertise in many significant mass tort cases. He is a leader in the plaintiff’s bar and the author of numerous papers on complex litigation. Mr. Placitella has served as Lead Counsel in major litigation matters, and has developed LegalView, an internet site providing up to date information for consumers.
This team of attorneys has successfully resolved national cases with global corporations and has obtained over a billion dollars in settlements in the past decade.
“In the case of the latest Salmonella outbreak, we plan on moving forward in a careful and thorough fashion,” Mr. Childers explained. “We will use all of the resources of the civil justice system to try to answer the questions raised by this recall and the people who have been affected by it.”
In addition to analyzing the cases of individuals who have contacted them, Mr. Weinberg explained that his team has adopted a strategy based on identifying the chain of events leading up to the contamination of the peanut butter and working within the legal system to efficiently address the issues and reach a fair and sensible resolution by trial or settlement.
“ConAgra has a significant problem.” Mr. Weinberg said, “but they also have a significant opportunity to demonstrate corporate initiative and responsibility and the ability to manage crises and weather problems. We have every expectation that they will step up to the plate.”
For more information or to speak to Mr. Weinberg or Mr. Childers, please contact Teri Longo at the Law Offices of Eric H. Weinberg toll free at 1-877-934-6274.
