A Philadelphia woman alleges in a lawsuit that listeria in baby spinach killed her unborn child

A Philadelphia law firm has filed a lawsuit alleging the death of a woman’s unborn child was caused by baby spinach contaminated with listeria.

Wapner Newman said in a news release, “The first-time expectant mother ingested baby spinach made by Fresh Express and sold at Fresh Grocer that, unbeknownst to her, was contaminated with Listeria.”

In December 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had issued a warning to the public not to eat certain brands of packaged salads “which they say are linked to two small, long-running listeria outbreaks in which three people died.

One outbreak is linked to packaged salads produced by Fresh Express and another has been tied to packaged salads produced by Dole.”

Listeria is a bacterial illness that can be treated with antibiotics, but it is especially dangerous to pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

According to Wapner Newman, “The expectant mother was 30 weeks and 6 days pregnant when she went to Abington Memorial Hospital experiencing flulike symptoms on Dec. 11, 2021. After her baby’s well-being was evaluated and confirmed, the mother was diagnosed with COVID-19 and sent home to quarantine.

During quarantine, her grandmother purchased baby spinach for smoothies that were consumed by the mother.

She returned to the emergency room at the same hospital on Dec. 15 where the medical providers noted no movement or heartbeat of the unborn child. The baby was delivered stillborn. An autopsy confirmed the sole cause of death was due to Listeria.”

Fresh Express had issued a recall on Dec. 20 for its leafy green vegetables connected to a listeria outbreak in Pennsylvania and other states. Wapner Newman said the recall “included the contaminated baby spinach that the mother consumed.”

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.