BPI, Tyson, JBS among those targeted in E. coli lawsuit
The family of a 62-year-old man with Down Syndrome who died shortly after eating ground beef has filed suit against Tyson Fresh Mears, JBS USA andBeef Products Inc., among others. The lawsuit, filed by the Marler Clark law firm on behalf of the family of Robert Danell, accuses BPI and the other companies for the sale of “unreasonably dangerous” food that led to Danell’s death in 2010.
Danell was one of 25 people sickened in 17 states due to an 2009 E. coli outbreak that was traced to a JBS Swift slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colo., reports the New York Daily News. National Steak and Poultry, which had purchased its meat from the Swift plant, recalled 246,000 pounds of its products as a result of the outbreak, though there were reports of other illnesses not linked to its products. Danell are a hamburger and Swedish meatballs in December, 2009 at a facility in Minnesota, and both meals included ground beef from Tyson that included BPI’s lean finely textured ground beef. He started experiencing symptoms of E. coli-related illness on Jan. 4 and died on June 19, 2010.