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# Report: About 20-30 Percent of Foodborne Illness Victims File Lawsuits
- URL: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/05/report-about-20-30-percent-of-foodborne-illness-victims-file-lawsuits/
- Published: 2015-05-26T19:50:52.000Z
- Updated: 2018-07-31T06:34:49.000Z
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Food Policy & Law, Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, Lawsuits & Litigation, Dallas Morning News, foodborne illness, lawsuit, legal action, Listeria, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-25 10:59

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Approximately 20-30 percent of victims in foodborne illness outbreaks seek legal action against the companies whose products sickened them or their family members, according to an attorney quoted in a May 24 report by [the Dallas Morning News](http://www.dallasnews.com/business/business-headlines/20150524-victims-of-food-borne-illness-dont-usually-seek-legal-relief.ece?ref=foodsafetynews.com). The newspaper interviewed a number of lawyers who specialize in foodborne illness litigation after a complaint was filed last week against Blue Bell Creameries in connection with the *Listeria* [outbreak](https://www.foodsafetynews.com/fda-inspectors-report-long-list-of-problems-at-three-blue-bell-plants/) linked to its products. That [lawsuit](http://www.click2houston.com/news/exhouston-resident-files-first-lawsuit-against-blue-bell/33123708?ref=foodsafetynews.com), brought by a 32-year-old man who lived in Houston, claims that he fell into a coma and suffered permanent brain damage in the fall of 2013 after eating Blue Bell ice cream. In the 2011 Jensen Farms cantaloupe *Listeria* outbreak, 66 of the 147 victims filed lawsuits against the company. Fifty of those 66 were represented by food safety law firm Marler Clark, which underwrites **Food Safety News**. A settlement was reached in February of this year.