However, Tiger Brands says its relief to victims is not an admission of guilt.
Attorneys representing listeriosis victims in the class action against Tiger Brands say they have not agreed to any compensation for victims’ medical expenses.
Tiger Brands included in its operational update on Wednesday that it will be paying medical expenses to some of the victims of the 2017 and 2018 listeriosis outbreaks.
However, its CEO said the relief to victims is not an admission of guilt.
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No agreed compensation
The plaintiffs’ attorneys in the class action, Richard Spoor Inc say they are engaging with Tiger Brands’ attorneys to obtain relief for the victims, however, there has been no compensation agreement and none of their clients has been compensated to date.
“As per their statement, Tiger Brands still denies liability to the victims of the outbreak and any settlement or interim relief discussions are on a ‘without prejudice’ basis and are parallel to the litigation process.”
Ongoing talks for liability
Tiger Brands did not disclose how much it will be paying the victims for their medical expenses.
According to its operational update, its attorneys are doing pre-trial preparations for the class action, which involves the discovery of documents and records to get the matter ready for trial for the court to determine liability.
“We remain confident that we will establish Tiger Brands’ liability to all of the victims of the outbreak and, as such, are continuing with our preparations for trial to ensure justice for persons who suffered harm as a result of consuming Tiger Brands’ listeria contaminated products,” adds Richard Spoor Inc.
Medical records
“In January 2023, the two attorneys approached the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for access to their records relevant to the listeriosis outbreak,” reads the Tiger Brands update.
These are considered vital when determining liability.
At the beginning of the year, the NICD released files with some data relating to its investigation of the listeriosis outbreak to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
“The files were shared with the company’s attorneys in February 2024 for review by their appointed experts. The experts’ review of the data is at an advanced stage but remains ongoing,” Tiger Brands said.
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