U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska
Drinkwalter v. Frontera Produce, Primus Labs and Walmart Stores
A lawsuit brought by the family of George Drinkwalter alleges that 81-year-old Mr. Drinkwalter consumed cantaloupe purchased from a Walmart store in Chadon, Nebraska in August and September of 2011 and later fell ill with a Listeria infection.
On September 8, 2011, Mr. Drinkwalter started experiencing symptoms of listeriosis, the illness caused by Listeria bacteria. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital the following day. A blood specimen collected on September 12, 2011 tested positive for one of five strains of Listeria monocytogenes associated with the Jensen Farms cantaloupe outbreak.
Mr. Drinkwalter was flown on an emergency basis to a hospital in Scottsbluff, Nebraska on September 13, where he continued treatment for his severe listeriosis. He died the next day, September 14, 2011.
Medical expenses associated with the treatment of Mr. Drinkwalter’s Listeria infection totaled nearly $95,000.