Boar’s Head has paid $4 million to a Long Island widow after her husband died from eating tainted liverwurst — one of dozens of hush-hush payouts tied to a deadly listeria outbreak at the company’s Virginia plant, The Post has learned.
Robert Hamilton, 73, was rushed to Nassau University Medical Center on July 12, 2024, with stomach pains, diarrhea and high fever — just days after eating a Boar’s Head sandwich. He died six days later.
Now, his wife of 55 years, Kathleen Hamilton, is among a growing number of grieving families and victims who have gotten a fat check from the iconic deli meats brand — as the 120-year-old company scrambles to put the scandal behind it.
“They want to keep the internal factors and root cause of this outbreak quiet,” said food safety lawyer Brendan Flaherty, whose firm has secured payouts in over a dozen cases. “They may also realize they need to take responsibility for the lives that have been shattered.”
The deadly outbreak has been linked to grossly unsanitary conditions at Boar’s Head’s shuttered Jarratt, Va. facility — where federal inspectors found mold, flying insects, rusting equipment, clogged drains, and condensation dripping on food prep areas.
At least 61 people across 19 states were infected — and 10 died, including Hamilton.
“The facts in this case are explosive,” said food safety attorney Ron Simon, who represents several victims. “Every day they don’t put this behind them, it hurts their brand.”
Behind the scenes, Boar’s Head and its insurers have been cutting quick settlements with victims — including pregnant women, elderly customers, and spouses who lost their loved ones — in a desperate bid to keep the lawsuits and headlines from piling up.
“I am not to comment,” said Sue Fleming, an 88-year-old, retired psychotherapist from High Ridge, Missouri who last year had spoken to the Associated Press after she fell ill from eating her favorite Boar’s Head liverwurst sandwich – “on bread with lettuce, a little mayo, a slice of pickle.”
Fleming – who spent nine days in the hospital and 11 days in rehabilitation last summer after what doctors confirmed was a listeria infection – declined to confirm to The Post whether she had settled.
“Boar’s Head has taken a number of steps to responsibly address last year’s recall, including a series of concrete, organization-wide initiatives to further strengthen our food safety processes and protocols. This also includes working to reach agreements with consumers who were affected,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to The Post.
Despite the deaths, Boar’s Head also recently confirmed that it’s preparing to reopen the Jarratt facility, which has been closed for more than a year.
“Our dedication to food safety is unwavering, and we continuously invest in our processes and facilities to uphold standards of quality and safety for our consumers,” the spokesperson added.
In Hamilton’s case, a $4 million settlement was filed in federal court but wasn’t sealed — despite a request by her attorney, the high-profile food safety lawyer Bill Marler, to protect her privacy. The widow had originally sued for $20 million.
Marler, who represented Hamilton, has secured 11 confidential settlements tied to the outbreak. He declined to comment on specifics.
In another case, the company – a privately-owned business with an estimated $3 billion in yearly revenue – quietly forked over $3.1 million to some 66,000 customers who never got refunds for products recalled after the outbreak.
“It settled even before the court certified our case as a class action,” the lead attorney Jason Sultzer told The Post.
Boar’s Head’s race to resolve the cases isn’t typical, according to lawyers.
“It’s very unusual for a company this large to settle quickly,” said Flaherty. “Most big companies make you jump through hoops. Boar’s Head seems to want these gone — fast.”
Still, dozens of cases are unresolved, and more are trickling in as the statute of limitations for food-borne illness claims ticks on. By some estimates, half of the 61 confirmed victims haven’t filed lawsuits yet.
“Some [victims] are elderly and they might call many months after the fact,” said Flaherty. “We just signed a 19-year-old woman who was undergoing cancer treatment when she got sick.”
Simon, who represented the family of Gunter Morgenstein — another high-profile fatality — said the company is clearly motivated by damage control.
Other remaining cases include that of 68-year-old Angel Cloughly, of Monmouth County, NJ, who ate a Boar’s Head liverwurst sandwich in July 2024. She was hospitalized for weeks and now requires daily injections for life, according to her lawsuit.
Jeffrey Scott Cox of Huntsville, Ala., ate a bologna sandwich in June 2024 and ended up in the hospital, eventually placed on a ventilator. The 58-year-old father of six – also a grandfather to four children – died in February, six months after his suit was originally filed.
Meanwhile, 73-year-old Robert Renavitz of Clifton, NJ passed away in June 2024 after eating Boar’s Head liverwurst. His wife of 51 years is suing not only Boar’s Head but Stop & Shop, where her husband bought the tainted meat.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
