Mother of two sues Big Olaf Creamery after miscarriage –

A mother of two who had a miscarriage after eating Listeria ice cream sued the manufacturer, according to one lawsuit.

Kristen Hopkins was visiting Clearwater, Florida for a family wedding while eating a frozen dessert at Big Olaf Creamery in late May.

The mother – who was pregnant with a baby at the time – flew to Billerica, Massachusetts a week later to experience mild cramps and an “ongoing” digestive upset. When she woke up one morning pale and trembling, her husband Frank Imbruglia rushed her to the hospital.

Doctors diagnosed her with listeriosis and said her baby was already dead. A few weeks ago, at the wedding of her daughters, Natalia, 5, and Amelia, seven months old, she had spoken to her relatives about the pregnancy.

This is the second lawsuit filed against the ice cream parlor after the family of eight-year-old grandmother Mary Billman, who died of the infection, was also filed. On January 18, Billman, who ate contaminated ice cream, died 11 days after the infection had spread to his spinal fluid and brain.

Tests by health officials showed that 16 of the company’s 17 ice cream flavors were contaminated with listeria, triggering a major recall. A total of 23 people fell ill during the epidemic and 22 were hospitalized. All five were pregnant.

Big Olaf Creamery said earlier last month that listeria is not permanently linked to its ice cream.

Kristen Hopkins, her husband Frank Imbruglia, and their children, Natalia, 5 and Amelia, are pictured above when they were seven months old. The family lives in Billerica, Massachusetts, but had traveled to Florida for a family wedding.

In total, 16 of the 17 flavors in Big Olaf Creamery tested positive for listeria. The brand had previously insisted it was not related to the outbreak.

Hopkins’ case was submitted to the Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court in early July.

The couple also sued the owners of Beverly’s Ice Cream, which they said had purchased the listeria-tainted ice cream.

Listeriosis is a potentially deadly infection fed by listeria bacteria, transmitted by eating contaminated food such as raw milk or unwashed vegetables.

In the early stages of infection, patients may develop fever and diarrhea, leading to confusion, loss of balance and seizures as the disease spreads throughout the body.

Listeria is especially dangerous in pregnant women, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and “usually leads to miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or life-threatening infection of the newborn.”

It is also more risky in people over the age of 65 and people who have a weakened immune system due to an underlying condition.

About 1,600 cases are discovered in the United States each year, of which 260, or 16 percent, are fatal.

In the file, the couple notes that Hopkins was “emotionally devastated” by the “traumatic loss of his baby” and “did not fully regain his strength” two months later.

The couple, who got married in December, fear the accident may have affected their fertility.

Hopkins’ condition continued to deteriorate after she was told her baby had died during a June 12 hospital visit.

She was taken to the intensive care unit where she started having seizures, and doctors performed a procedure to remove her dead baby.

At one point, the family was told that her condition was “critical” and that she might need a hysterectomy that would end any chance of another pregnancy, the document said.

Blood tests showed he was infected with listeria, and more swabs showed it matched the strain involved in the outbreak.

Hopkins was discharged from the hospital on June 17, but still needed regular care by a home nurse.

Big Olaf Creamery insisted on July 3 that the link between listeria and its ice cream was unconfirmed.

“We have been transparent and answered all their questions and provided all the information they requested because the health and well-being of the public is our number one priority,” he said.

DailyMail.com reached out to the company for further comment.

The CDC discovered the outbreak in June and said all 23 patients in 10 states had recently visited Florida.

He linked the outbreak to Big Olaf Creamery in a June 30 food safety statement.

Flavors that tested positive for Listeria included blueberry cheesecake, chocolate, cookie dough, vanilla, and white chocolate raspberry.

Listeria was also detected at processing plants in Sarasota, Florida.

Ice creams were sold at Big Olaf stores, restaurants, and nursing homes in Florida and an Ohio city.