$4M Boar’s Head Settlement Reached in Wrongful Death Food Poisoning Lawsuit

Food poisoning settlement follows a widespread Boar’s Head deli meat listeria outbreak, which sickened more than 60 people and caused at least 10 deaths.

The manufacturers of Boar’s Head deli meats have agreed to pay $4 million in a wrongful death settlement, resolving a claim brought by a New York woman, whose husband died in a listeria outbreak that was caused by poor conditions in the company’s Virginia processing plant.

According to an article published in the New York Post, Kathleen Hamilton will receive the $4 million payment after her 73-year-old husband, Robert Hamilton, died from eating a Boar’s Head deli sandwich contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria food poisoning can cause symptoms such as high fevers, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. While often mild in healthy adults, listeria can be life-threatening for children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. For pregnant women, the illness may also lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or other serious complications.

Hamilton’s claim was one of a number of Boar’s Head food poisoning lawsuits filed over a massive recall last year, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a listeria food poisoning warning in July 2024.

Boar’s Head ultimately recalled more than 7 million pounds of deli meat after listeria contamination was traced to its packaging plant in Jarratt, Virginia, which had previously been cited for insect infestations, leaking ceilings and other unsanitary conditions. By then, the outbreak had already sickened at least 61 people in 19 states and was linked to 10 deaths.

Hamilton originally filed the lawsuit against Boar’s Head seeking $20 million in damages, according to the New York Post. However, she settled for $4 million in what the article says is one of at least 11 such settlements that Boar’s Head has agreed to in relation to the 2024 listeria outbreak.

Although the New York Post reports that dozens of cases remain unresolved, the newspaper also indicates that at least half of the 61 individuals who suffered an illness during the Boar’s Head listeria outbreak have yet to file a claim in court.

2024 Boar’s Head Deli Meat Recall

The Boar’s Head deli meat recall impacted 71 different products produced between May 10, 2024, and July 29, 2024, under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names. Items included meat intended for slicing at retail delis, as well as some packaged meat and poultry products sold at retail locations.

The first recall was initiated on July 26, 2024, after Maryland health officials detected Listeria in an unopened liverwurst sample. That same day, the USDA announced a recall of about 207,000 pounds of Boar’s Head deli meat. Just four days later, Boar’s Head expanded the recall, pulling more than 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products from shelves nationwide.

Investigators traced the outbreak to a Boar’s Head Jarratt, Virginia plant, where inspectors reported unsanitary conditions, including dripping ceilings, insect infestations, dried meat residue on racks, and widespread mold and mildew.

As a result of these findings, the plant has been closed for more than a year. However, reports indicate that the company is now planning to reopen the facility.

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