Listeriosis victims could form biggest class action
SA’s biggest class action lawsuit could take place if families of those who died and those hospitalised after contracting listeriosis decide to sue. ‘There is a possibility of a class action. Whoever is responsible could face class action‚’ consumer lawyer Janusz Luterek is quoted as saying in a BusinessLIVE report.
He said relatives of people who had died and people who were hospitalised after contracting the disease could sue for damages. ‘The damages claimed and the legal costs incurred could be huge – many millions may be awarded per deceased victim‚ several million per victim requiring long-term care‚ thousands per victim that recovered‚’ Luterek said.
Attorney Andrew Donnelly, a partner and head of litigation at Shepstone & Wylie, said that while class action was a possibility, the families of the deceased or individual survivors would have legal recourse and could have legal claims against the manufacturer, notes a report in The Mercury. ‘They would have to show the the food manufactured by that company caused or resulted in the death or injury (illness) of a person… Legal action will arise if the manufacturer did not carry out proper testing. In addition, the National Consumer Act imposes strict liability,’ he said. Section 61 of the Act states that ‘...the producer or importer, distributor or retailer of any goods is liable for any harm… caused wholly or partly as a consequence of supplying any unsafe goods'.
On Sunday‚ Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi named Enterprise’s food production plant in Polokwane‚ Limpopo‚ as the confirmed source of the unique strain of listeria that has caused the world’s biggest documented listeriosis outbreak‚ with 948 confirmed cases and 180 deaths.
Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)
Enterprise Foods has withdrawn all ready-to-eat meat products and has halted production at the two factories manufacturing these products‚ parent company Tiger Brands said yesterday, according to a second BusinessLIVE report. But Tiger Brands CEO Lawrence MacDougall said there had been no direct correlation between the company’s products and the 180 deaths caused by the listeriosis outbreak.
He said although the National Consumer Commission ordered Enterprise Foods to recall three products‚ the company had decided to be extra vigilant and voluntarily recall all products produced at its facilities in Germiston in Gauteng and Polokwane in Limpopo. The company had detected low traces of listeria in sample products on 14 February at its Polokwane facility, and had immediately quarantined all those products, according to MacDougall.
The outbreak highlighted gaps in SA’s food-control legislation, according to Kerrigan McCarthy, head of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases outbreak-response unit, which identified the three suspect products. ‘Our legislation does not specify the allowable limits of listeria. International legislation quantifies the amount of listeria that is acceptable in certain food types (but) our legislation does not.
We have guidelines, but they are not legally enforceable,’ she is quoted as saying in a Business Day report. She said 17 swabs taken from the Enterprise Foods unit in Polokwane had tested positive for the Listeriosis monocytogenes strain ST 6, which causes listeriosis. It was identified in children admitted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and in Enterprise and RCL products in the fridge at their preschool.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
