Petition filed against pig farm after woman dies of swine flu
The husband of a Harlingen woman who became the first American to die of the swine flu virus wants to know if the operators of the pig farm where it is believed that virus originated are responsible for his wife's death.
Steven Trunnell filed a petition Monday in Cameron County on behalf of his late wife Judy Dominguez Trunnell, 33, a Mercedes special education teacher, who died May 5 as a result of the H1N1 virus or swine flu.
The Mercedes teacher was eight months pregnant when she developed flu-like symptoms. She gave birth by Ceaserean section to a baby girl and died shortly thereafter.
Health officials determined that she died from complications of the swine flu.
Steven Trunnell's petition wants information from Smithfield Foods Inc., doing business as Granjas Carroll de Mexico, the operator of the pig farm where the swine flu is believed to have originated, the lawsuit states.
The petition will determine whether there is enough evidence to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against Smithfield Foods Inc.
The pig farm, located in La Gloria, Veracruz, Mexico, is partly owned by Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc.
Steven Trunnell is seeking a court order to authorize depositions, or oral examinations, of company officials, employees and agents to investigate wrongful death claims against Smithfield Foods Inc.
Trunnell, a paramedic, believes unsanitary conditions at Smithfield Foods may have caused the development and spread of the flu virus, the petition states.
In the petition, filed by attorneys Marc G. Rosenthal and J. Linn Watson, states "that there may be evidence which links the creation of the newest strain of the deadly swine flu...with Smithfield Foods' humongous pig farm operation in Mexico, which under the joint control of Smithfield Foods, has been allowed to lapse into a breeding ground of immense unsanitary proportions for a deadly virus."
This petition is necessary to determine if Smithfield Foods' "mistreatment of property, people and animals in Veracruz, Mexico contributed to the creation and propagation of a new strain of deadly swine influenza," the petition states.
The petition claims that the swine flu originated in and around "manure lagoons" of Smithfield Foods' pig farming operation.
The filing comes a day after the United Press International reported that health officials have found no connection between the swine flu virus and the pig farm. However, residents there have long blamed the farming operation for a variety of illnesses, the UPI reported.
Smithfield "believes that it has had no negative impact on the local community or the environment through its operations," company official Gregg Schmidt said.
The H1N1 virus, or swine flu virus, is being blamed for three deaths in the United States. The first was a Mexican toddler who was treated at a Houston hospital. Judy Dominguez Trunnell was the second death in the U.S. and the first American. The third was Washington man believed to be his 30s.
Worldwide, swine flu has been responsible for 61 deaths, with 56 of those from Mexico, The Associated Press reported. There are about 4,800 of confirmed cases in 30 countries, according to the World Health Organizations and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
