Listeria outbreak lawsuit against Boar’s Head says 'defective' deli meat killed Holocaust survivor

Left: Gunter Morgenstein and his wife, Margarete Morgenstein (Ron Simon & Associates). Right: Gunter Morgenstein (Ron Simon & Associates). Inset: A Boar’s Head logo is seen at a bodega in New York on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024 (AP Photo/Stephanie Nano).

A Virginia man who escaped to the U.S. after surviving the Holocaust in Germany died in July from a listeria infection from tainted deli meat — and now his family is suing over his death.

Gunter Garshon Morgenstein, 88, died on July 18 after spending 10 days in the hospital fighting a host of infections and medical conditions that struck days eating Boar’s Head meat purchased from a Harris Teeter grocery store in Newport News. On July 26, following an investigation launched less than 10 days earlier, a recall was announced warning people against consuming certain packages of ham, salami, bologna, liverwurst and bacon sold by the company.

According to a lawsuit filed in Florida , where Boar’s Head is headquartered, the man’s death was caused by tainted Boar’s Head meat.

“On June 30, 2024, Gunter Morgenstein purchased Boar’s Head Liverwurst and other Boar’s Head products,” the lawsuit says. “In the coming days, he consumed them on various occasions. He subsequently became ill, suffering from weakness, diarrhea, fatigue, and a fever.”

Morgenstein’s condition deteriorated, the lawsuit says, and on July 8 he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The otherwise active man allegedly had an array of symptoms, the lawsuit says, including “shortness of breath, weakness, feeling unsteady, chest pain, swelling [with] prolonged standing, as well as episodes of diarrhea, decreased appetite, bilateral lumbar paraspinal pain, as well as the recent onset of constipation.”

“The attending physician went out of his way to note how active Mr. Morgenstein remained, prior to his arrival in the hospital, still working several days per week,” the complaint added.

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Over the next few days, hospital workers were “perplexed by his worsening condition,” which was finally diagnosed on July 11 — three days after he was admitted to the hospital. By that point, Morgenstein was “critically ill” and had tested positive for bacterial meningitis, which was linked to the presence of listeria. He eventually developed “sepsis and bacteremia due to listeria, and listeria meningitis encephalitis,” the lawsuit says.

“Despite all aggressive measures, his clinical condition was continued to deteriorate so family decided eventually to provide him comfort measures only,” the lawsuit says, citing doctor’s notes.

Health officials later confirmed that Morgenstein was “a confirmed case in the Boar’s Head Listeria Outbreak,” the complaint adds.

On Friday, the law firm of Ron Simon & Associates announced the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Morgenstein’s wife Margarete Morgenstein and his son Garshon Morgenstein. The family members are suing Boar’s Head for wrongful death under theories of negligence and strict liability.

“There was a manufacturing defect in the product when it left Defendant’s possession and control,” the lawsuit says. “The product was defective because it contained listeria . The presence of listeria was a condition of the product that rendered it unreasonably dangerous to decedent.”

According to the complaint, the meat products’ dangers “were known or by the application of reasonably developed human skill and foresight should have been known.”

The law firm says it’s the first lawsuit filed in the recall. As of Aug. 28, an estimated nine people have died in connection with the recalled products, with at least 57 hospitalizations in at least 18 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control .

“This the largest listeriosis outbreak since the 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupe,” the CDC said.

An investigation has revealed “a number of health violations at the company’s Jarratt, Virginia plant, including the presence of mold, insects, blood puddles, contaminated water, old meat residue, ceiling leaks and contaminated food surfaces,” Ron Simon, attorney for Morgenstein’s survivors, said in a press release , which also said that Boar’s Head has “since recalled all products manufactured at the plant, which remains closed until further notice.”

Morgenstein’s son, Garshon Morgenstein, told Norfolk ABC affiliate WVEC that his family is “still in shock” over the man’s death.

“For all of the things that he’s seen and been through in his life, to come to that — lunch meat,” he told the station. He also said that his father grew up in Germany and survived the Holocaust, the 12-year period starting in 1930s Germany that resulted in the systematic, state-led persecution and murder of six million Jews and millions of others. Gershon Morgenstein said that his father’s parents would hide him in the floorboards of their home.

The man’s son also said his father enjoyed eating lunch meat, and that it was “always Boar’s Head.”

“I don’t eat liverwurst, but that was something that he ate and those types of things, because he was European,” he said.

According to an obituary in the local news website Daily Press, Morgenstein escaped East Berlin in 1954. In his hometown of Newport News, he was a well-known hairstylist, the obituary said, and is survived by his wife of 50 years, Peggy, his son and two daughters, and their families.

“We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families,” Boar’s Head said on its website . “No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.”

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