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Cargill Ground Turkey Salmonella Heidelberg Outbreak Lawsuits - Nationwide (2011)

The Marler Clark Salmonella lawyers represented victims of the 2011 antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak traced to Cargill ground turkey products. By August 18, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 119 people in 32 states who had become ill with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg infections after consuming the ground turkey products, which were recalled in late July after the Salmonella outbreak was announced.

On August 3, Cargill recalled 36 million pounds of fresh and frozen ground turkey products produced at the company’s Springdale, Ark., facility from Feb. 20, 2011, through Aug. 2, 2011, due to possible contamination with Salmonella Heidelberg. In September, Cargill expanded the recall by another 185,000 pounds.

According to the CDC, people across the country had become ill with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg infections associated with the consumption of the Cargill ground turkey products as far back as February, 2011. Among persons for whom information is available, 27 were hospitalized and one person died as a result of Salmonella infection.

The number of ill persons identified in each state: Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (3), California (6), Colorado (4), Georgia (2), Illinois (15), Indiana (1), Iowa (2), Kansas (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (1), Michigan (12), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (1), Missouri (5), Nebraska (2), Nevada (1), New Jersey (1), New York (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (11), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (1), Pennsylvania (6), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (2), Texas (16), Utah (1), and Wisconsin (4).

On August 16, 2011 the firm filed a lawsuit in Oregon Federal Court on behalf of a Portland-area family whose 10-month old daughter was hospitalized with a Salmonella Heidelberg infection she contracted after eating cooked ground turkey produced by Cargill. The firm filed a second lawsuit against Cargill on August 25, 2011 on behalf of a Missouri woman.

These Salmonella cases, as well as the claims of additional people represented by Marler Clark, were recently resolved.

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