Banks County man joins peanut butter lawsuit
A team of attorneys, already working on other salmonella food poisoning cases in Georgia, filed a lawsuit this week on behalf of a Banks County man who became ill after eating peanut butter.
Billy Duren of Homer, reportedly 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, Buck & Schlueter, LLP, of Atlanta, Georgia, and the Law Offices of Eric H. Weinberg, of New Brunswick, N.J., are collaborating representing individuals who have been harmed by exposure to the contaminated peanut butter. Weinberg is Of Counsel to the firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, with offices in Philadelphia, Penn., and Red Bank, N.J.
“ConAgra has a significant problem but they also have a significant opportunity to demonstrate corporate initiative and responsibility and the ability to manage crises and weather problems,” Weinberg said. “We have every expectation that they will step up to the plate.”
Weinberg and Childers have been contacted by injured parties and other attorneys from all over the country about the peanut butter salmonella outbreak.
“We are carefully reviewing each inquiry to determine if we can assist people who believe they have suffered harm from this product,” Weinberg said.
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. The team filed the first case in this food-borne illness outbreak in mid-January, and expects to file dozens more.
Weinberg recently created the website, www.FoodPoisoning.com, and the blog, www.SalmonellaLawsuit.com, to provide consumers with 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.