Worms In Popular Grocery Item Sickened FL Mom, Child: Lawsuit

FORT PIERCE, FL — A Florida family has filed a federal lawsuit against Campbell Soup Co. and Walmart alleging they suffered serious illnesses after consuming a can of Campbell's SpaghettiOs that contained live worms.

Court records obtained by Patch show the lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Mary Hubbard, individually, and by Hubbard and Gregory Lovell on behalf of their minor child.

The complaint names Campbell Soup Co., Campbell Soup Supply Co. LLC, Walmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores East LP as defendants.

The lawsuit says the problems began when Hubbard purchased a can of Campbell's SpaghettiOs from a Walmart Supercenter in Okeechobee before June 6, 2024.

The complaint goes on to allege that Hubbard and her child consumed portions of the product at their home, before Hubbard says she discovered what appeared to be worms or parasites moving inside the food.

The lawsuit also claims that she documented the contaminated can in multiple videos.

Hubbard says she suffered a range of injuries after consuming the product, including a parasitic infection, gastrointestinal illness, sepsis, liver-related complications, iron deficiency anemia requiring intravenous treatments and post-traumatic stress disorder.

What's more, the lawsuit also alleges the child suffered abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a parasitic infection that required treatment and psychological injuries.

The family contends the companies included as defendants in the lawsuit failed to properly inspect, test and monitor the product. They also claim the companies failed to maintain adequate food-safety measures to prevent contamination.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages exceeding $75,000 and includes claims of negligence, strict liability, breach of implied warranty and violations of federal food-adulteration laws.

The impacted family has also demanded a jury trial.

However, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday dismissed the complaint without prejudice after finding that the plaintiffs had not adequately established federal diversity jurisdiction.

Judge Cannon, instead, ruled that the complaint alleged only the parties' residences and failed to properly allege citizenship.

The judge also found that the complaint did not identify the citizenship of the members of Campbell Soup Supply Co. LLC or the partners of Wal-Mart Stores East LP.

Judge Cannon gave the plaintiffs until June 18 to file an amended complaint correcting the jurisdictional deficiencies.

It should be noted that the court's order does not address the merits of the accusations and no findings have been made at this stage regarding whether the product was contaminated or whether the defendants are liable for the claimed injuries.

NBC News reported this week that Campbell Soup Co. declined to comment on the pending litigation but did say it believes the claims to be without merit and mentioned plans to "vigorously defend against these allegations."