A Napa County restaurant named in a wrongful death lawsuit is accused of serving undercooked and contaminated scallops.
Larry Sacknoff, 61, of San Diego, died in August 2014 as a result of contracting Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a water-borne bacteria. His family, who has brought the suit, alleges he contracted the bacteria while eating an appetizer and entree that contained scallops at the Yountville restaurant Redd in July 2013.
The suit states that Sacknoff and his two friends all became ill after eating the scallops, but the friends recovered, and Sacknoff, who had recently had a heart transplant, did not.
The Napa Valley Register reported that Pierless Fish Corp., a Brooklyn seafood purveyor named in the lawsuit with Redd, settled with the plaintiff in September and claims against Pierless were dropped in November.
The Plaintiff's attorney, Ron Simon, told the San Francisco Chronicle a trial, scheduled for July 11, is taking place because Redd is disputing the claims. Simon said he feels bolstered by a 2013 health department inspection of Redd following the Sacknoff group's illnesses that found scallops to be cooked at an improper temperature.
"Basically, the health department laid the case out for us," he said.
