Publix and Quirch Foods sued over alleged E. coli death

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Publix Super Markets and distributor Quirch Foods following the death of Karla Mullins in Florida. The complaint, filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court, alleges that Mullins died after consuming GreenWise Organic frozen blueberries that were contaminated with E. coli.

Mullins’ husband and son are seeking damages, noting that her son was also hospitalized with serious injuries after consuming the same product. The lawsuit claims that both the retailer and the distributor failed to adequately perform inspections and quality assurance.

The legal action follows a multistate E. coli O145:H28 outbreak. Chilean supplier Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S. A. initially recalled one lot of the blueberries on July 3, but Publix later expanded the recall on July 29 to include all lots of GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries and Whole Mixed Berries. Another Florida couple has also filed a lawsuit alleging illness from the recalled products.