(Legal Newsline) – A Okeechobee County couple has sued after they say they found worms in a can of SpaghettiOs that led to illness.
Mary Hubbard and Gregory Lovell, parents of the minor P.L., filed their lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Pierce Division against Campbell Soup Company and Walmart, where the item was purchased. The named defendants include Campbell Soup Company, Campbell Soup Supply Company LLC, Walmart Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores East LP.
In their 16-page complaint, Hubbard and Lovell contend the defendants owed a duty of reasonable care to design, manufacture, distribute, supply, inspect, test, and sell food products that were “safe, free from contamination, and fit for human consumption.”
“Defendants knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known, that a failure to properly manufacture, process, inspect, and distribute their canned food products could result in contamination of those products with parasites and/or other harmful substances, causing serious injury to consumers,” the complaint states.
In June 2024, Hubbard purchased SpaghettiOs from a Walmart in Okeechobee, Florida. On June 6, 2024, she prepared and served the canned pasta food to herself and her child, P.L.
After they already had consumed portions of the SpaghettiOs, Hubbard claims she discovered “worms or parasites actively moving within the food.” She proceeded to document the contamination in multiple videos.
“As a direct and proximate result of consuming the contaminated Campbell’s SpaghettiOs, plaintiff Hubbard suffered serious and permanent injuries and damages including, but not limited to: a parasitic infection; gastrointestinal illness; sepsis; hepatic injury and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; iron deficiency anemia requiring intravenous iron infusion therapy; and chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” the complaint states, noting that Hubbard sought and continues to seek medical care for the injuries.
Her son, P.L., also suffered “serious injuries and damages,” the filing alleges.
They include, but are not limited to: abdominal pain; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; a parasitic infection requiring treatment with Albendazole; and psychological injuries including “adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct.”
He, too, sought and continues to seek medical and psychological care for the injuries, the lawsuit claims.
The family seeks damages for bodily injuries; medical and related expenses, both past and future; pain and suffering; mental anguish; loss of enjoyment of life; inconvenience; disfigurement and scarring; loss of earning capacity; and permanent disability and impairments.
Wolfgang M. Florin, Hunter Higdon, and Christopher D. Gray in Lutz, Florida, are representing the family in the lawsuit.
