Tiger Brands. Picture: James Oatway/Reuters
Tiger Brands may still have to pay victims of a deadly listeriosis outbreak that occurred more than seven years ago. The company faces a class action lawsuit from victims and their relatives.
The outbreak was traced to an Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane, Limpopo, in 2018. Enterprise Foods is a subsidiary of Tiger Brands.
A total of 1 060 confirmed cases and 216 deaths made it the deadliest outbreak in the world. Now, around 1 000 claimants may soon be able to seek between R100 000 and R2 000 000 to compensate for their losses.
“We are still preparing, full steam ahead, for trial,” said Nilesthra Padayachee, director at Richard Spoor Inc., in an interview with Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday.
She confirmed that an advance payment to victims requiring urgent medical treatment was “not part of the damages process” and that “the full damages process is still underway”.
The trial will unfold in two stages, she explained.
“In stage one of the trial, we will establish liability that Tiger Brands’ Polokwane facility was the cause of the listeriosis outbreak and that will then set in motion stage two, where we will determine causation and be able to fully compensate those who have suffered an injury and harm as a result of this outbreak.”
