Outbreaks at Meatpacking Plants Far Worse than Publicly Reported

October 16, 2020 | Written By

There have been nearly 2,600 separate COVID-19 outbreaks across Illinois, according to documents recently obtained by the Documenting COVID-19 project at Columbia University’s Brown Institute for Media Innovation and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.  However, many of these outbreaks were never made public by the Illinois Department of Health.  Most notably, many outbreaks at meatpacking plants have been far worse that what was publicly known.  Aurora Packing Company is one of five plants, where it was found that the number of cases was at least double of what has been reported.  Outbreaks within meat and poultry processing centers can rapidly affect a large number of people and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 87% of those affected are among racial or ethnic minorities.

Latherow & Duignan has extensive experience representing clients throughout the state of Illinois.  We are currently handling and accepting COVID related cases and our attorneys have the experience and knowledge to navigate the complex legal issues involved.