Maryland man hospitalized with Salmonella sepsis sues Virginia oyster grower in federal court in Richmond

RICHMOND, Va., Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A Maryland man who was hospitalized with Salmonella sepsis after eating raw oysters at a family gathering has sued The Little Wicomico Oyster Company, LLC, a Virginia grower at the center of a 13-state Salmonella outbreak.

Jonathan Rucker of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, filed his complaint and jury demand on November 11, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division. He is represented by Regan Zambri Long PLLC of Washington, D.C., and Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, of Bainbridge Island, WA.

It is the second lawsuit Marler Clark has filed in the outbreak. The first, on behalf of Colorado resident Sherry DeCrow, was filed October 29 in federal court in Colorado against Little Wicomico and Whole Foods.

According to the complaint, an acquaintance of Mr. Rucker ordered a 100-count "Farm Fresh Oyster Sampler" from Little Wicomico's online store around September 2, 2026. The company shipped the oysters directly to Maryland, where they arrived September 4. Mr. Rucker ate several of them raw at a family-and-friends gathering in Cheltenham, Maryland, on September 5.

Three days later he developed diarrhea, followed by high fever, shaking chills and a severe headache. On September 15, he went to the emergency room in Alexandria, Virginia, where blood cultures later grew Salmonella. He was admitted with sepsis, underwent a lumbar puncture, a brain MRI, and a heart scan, and was hospitalized for five days.

On November 6, public health officials told Mr. Rucker that whole genome sequencing showed his Salmonella was a genetic match to the outbreak strain linked to Little Wicomico River oysters.

The complaint brings claims for strict product liability, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, and negligence, and demands a jury trial.

"Jonathan Rucker did nothing wrong. He ate oysters at a family gathering and ended up in a hospital bed with sepsis and Salmonella in his blood," said Adriana Zimova of Marler Clark. "However the contamination got into those oysters, the company that sold them to be eaten raw is responsible for what it shipped."

"Little Wicomico shipped these oysters straight to a Maryland doorstep through its own online store," said Salvatore J. Zambri of Regan Zambri Long. "According to CDC, people in this outbreak began getting sick in late May, months before the oysters covered by the recall were harvested. Mr. Rucker was one of them, and he deserves to be made whole."

Outbreak and Recall Status

Case count. CDC's most recent update, October 30, reports 28 people sick with Salmonella Telelkebir in 13 states, five hospitalized and no deaths. Illnesses began between May 29 and October 6, 2026, and two of the sick live in Maryland.

Source confirmed. CDC says epidemiologic, laboratory and traceback data show that oysters Little Wicomico harvested from the Little Wicomico River made people sick. VDH's first round of oysters from the company's cages, collected October 13, was positive in every sample, including the outbreak strain and Salmonella Newport, Hartford and Braenderup. A second round, collected October 21, was positive in three of the company's four leased growing areas.

Testing keeps coming back positive. VDH's November 10 update reports that a third round of company oysters, collected November 2, was positive in three of eight samples from two of four leases. Bird-feces samples were negative, and October water samples showed no sign of a human sewage release. A fourth round of company oysters, collected November 9, and water and oysters from public grounds, collected November 4, are pending.

The river stays closed. VDH closed the Little Wicomico River to shellfish harvesting by emergency order on October 9. On November 8 it extended the closure past the original 30 days under Shellfish Area Condemnation 010-105. VDH says reopening will require three consecutive rounds of negative product testing.

The recall. On October 9, Little Wicomico voluntarily recalled whole shell stock oysters (VA-1421-SP) harvested September 18 through October 8, 2026, from the Little Wicomico River and Little Wicomico River Lower. VDH says the oysters went to Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C. FDA has issued a safety alert.

Public Health Sources

• CDC, Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Oysters, updated October 30, 2026
• CDC, Investigation Update
• Virginia Department of Health, Salmonella Outbreak Associated With Oysters, updated November 10, 2026
• Virginia Department of Health, Shellfish Area Condemnation 010-105
• Virginia Department of Health, Recall: Little Wicomico River
• FDA, Safety Alert: Salmonella in Oysters from Little Wicomico River, Virginia

About the Firms

Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm, has represented victims of foodborne illness outbreaks since 1993, including Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and Vibrio cases linked to shellfish, produce, meat and dairy. The firm is based on Bainbridge Island, Washington. www.marlerclark.com

Regan Zambri Long Personal Injury Lawyers, PLLC, is a Washington, D.C., trial firm representing injured people in the District, Maryland and Virginia.

Rucker v. The Little Wicomico Oyster Company, LLC, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, Civil Action No. 3:26-cv-01477.

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SOURCE Marler Clark, The Food Safety Law Firm