A South Texas woman has filed suit against Blue Bell Creameries, claiming she became infected with Listeria after eating tainted ice cream.
In a petition filed Monday, the Houston Chronicle reported, Ursula Burton of Galveston County said she bought Blue Bell ice cream at a Valero Corner Store on April 18, 2015. Both she and her daughter ate the ice cream and, according to the petition, "became violently ill and started to vomit" later that day.
Burton became lactose intolerant after being diagnosed with listeriosis, and her daughter is now sensitive to dairy, the suit says.
The suit brought by Houston attorney Mark Midani accuses Blue Bell of "gross negligence and deceptive trade practices" and asks for between $200,000 and $1 million in damages, the newspaper reported.
The beloved Brenham-based ice manufacturer has been plagued by Listeria issues in the last two years.
In April 2015, the company suspended production after contamination led to an outbreak that sickened 10, three fatally. The company was eventually fined $850,000 in penalties.
Last September, a year after Blue Bell had returned to store shelves, the company declared a partial recall of certain products, produced by a third-party supplier, that were at risk of carrying Listeria monocytogenes.
