Lawsuit: Hollywood woman’s mother killed by listeria from Florida ice cream company
Sarasota’s Big Olaf Creamery, linked by the CDC to a listeria outbreak, has been sued in Tampa federal court by the family of a deceased Illinois woman.
The lawsuit blames Big Olaf ice cream eaten by Pesotum, Illinois, resident Mary Billman while visiting Florida for her death on Jan. 29. Billman’s death is the one in the CDC’s breakdown of this listeria outbreak (23 illnesses, 22 hospitalizations, one death).
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The lawsuit filed by Naples’ Chaikin Law Firm and Seattle food safety firm Marler Clark accuses Big Olaf of negligence, liability and breach of warranty. No one answered Big Olaf’s corporate number, which had a full voice mail, nor have emails about the outbreak or the lawsuit been answered.
After Saturday’s update from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention connected the outbreak to Big Olaf Creamery, the company made its first Facebook post since November:
“For now it is only speculation as it is an ongoing investigation, our brand has not been confirmed to be linked to these cases, I am not sure why only Big Olaf is being mentioned and targeted.
“The original report we got from the Florida Department of Health on Friday, July 1st, was that there are 23 cases reported, the first one reported was January 2021. 6 out of the 23 patients mentioned having consumed Big Olaf ice cream, but nothing has been proven. We have been cooperating with the Florida Department of Health, FDACS and the FDA as soon as we were informed about the situation. We have been transparent and have answered all their questions and provided them with all the information requested from us, as the health and well being of the public is our first priority.”
According to the CDC, listeria’s annual U.S. mortality rate is about 16.25% with senior citizens among the group most likely to get the worst of the foodborne disease.
Billman, 79, left behind husband Richard Billman; daughters Kelli Mitsdarfer, a Hollywood resident; Kara Gray; Richelle Brown; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. The lawsuit says while Billman was in Florida visiting Mitsdarfer, they went over to Sarasota and wound up eating at Big Olaf’s Creamery on Jan. 18.
Billman was supposed to head for California with her daughter on Jan. 25, but hit by gastrointestinal issues and a low-grade fever, she stayed in Florida on the advice of a walk-in clinic’s physician. Testing found a urinary tract infection. By Jan. 27, the lawsuit said, the low-grade fever was up to 103 degrees and she was in Memorial Regional Hospital’s emergency room in Hollywood being treated for a septic illness.
“Over the course of the next two days, Mrs. Billman’s organs began to shut down due to her septic illness,” the lawsuit claims. “By the time her family was able to see her again, she was unconscious.”
Billman never regained consciousness and died on Jan. 29.
