As citizens of the United States, products we buy are supposed to be manufactured to pass specific health and safety standards as a way to protect us from physical harm. A defective product is a product that is faulty and dangerous to the consumer. There are many cases of defective products across all industries that can cause serious injury including death.
These defective products can be unseen to the eye, like the listeria or e.coli bacteria linked to spinach and salad bags. You would have no idea until after you ate it, that this was lurking in your “healthy” meal. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure that your bag of salad has passed health and safety standards before it reaches your plate.
There was a recent case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against Dole. The case links this company to the death of a woman that died, possibly from eating a contaminated salad with listeria that was produced by Dole.
Listeria is a food-borne bacteria typically found in raw vegetables and meats, as well as some soft cheeses. About 1,600 illnesses and 260 deaths due to listeriosis occur annually in the U.S., according to the CDC.
In 2006, Dole salads that were contaminated with E.coli caused over 250 cases of illness and led to five deaths.
If you think you have eaten a defective product, get to a hospital immediately. You may be experiencing flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrhea, muscle aches, and chills. Food poisoning can result in the fatality. Eating a defective product is not your fault, and a lawyer can help you determine what happened in a case of foodborne illness. Call us for a free consultation.
