Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Publix

Eleven-year-old Derek “Landon” Wood of Sterrett, Alabama passed away due to anaphylactic shock on June 3, 2014 after eating a cookie from a Publix store in Clarksville, Tenn. Friday, March 20th, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Publix, reports The (Clarksville, Tenn) Leaf Chronicle.

Landon suffered from food allergies since he was four-years-old and although Landon’s mother was told by a Publix associate that the cookie had no tree nut allergens in it, they later discovered it had walnuts in it. The cookie was behind the bakery counter and had no label. No warnings regarding allergens were posted on the bakery counter either, reports The Chronicle.

Landon was given Benadryl and his mother administered his epinephrine pen. He was then rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center but the doctors were unable to resuscitate him.

“The purpose of the lawsuit is to raise the awareness of food allergens that are potentially fatal in children, to have Publix follow the federal law in labeling food allergens and obtain some measure of compensation for the family,” said Eddie Schmidt, family’s attorney.

Get all the details and read the entire story from The Chronicle here.