Monday, May 18, 2009

Flu Death Lawsuit

Husband of Swine Flu Victim Sues US Pig Farmer Smithfield Foods for Wrongful Death
Posted by Camryn HansenWednesday, May 13, 2009 8:12 PM EST

The husband of 33 year-old Judy Trunnell, the first US resident to die from the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, has filed a lawsuit against the Smithfield Foods, the American owner of the Mexican pig farm thought to be the virus’ birthplace.

Contradicting health officials’ reports that Trunnell had “chronic” health problems which contributed to her death, Trunnell’s husband Steven claims she was always in excellent health. She had delivered a baby girl by C-section only a few days before her May 5 death, after being admitted to the hospital with flu symptoms and slipping into a coma shortly afterward.

The petition filed Monday in state district court in Cameron County seeks permission to conduct depositions for a possible wrongful death claim against the $12 billion company. Read More

This is obviously a very tragic situation. None of us can imagine what this man is going through right now. However, this seems like an incredibly far-fetched claim, especially given the fact that 30,000 people die from the flu every year in this country. The panic and fear that the media spread about H1N1 was hard to believe. If this virus had been properly named in the first place I doubt that Smithfield would be getting sued right now.

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