Who’s Liable for Your Food Poisoning?

Food poisoning is a gut-wrenching experience in more ways than one. Anyone who has had to endure its unpleasantness knows what we are talking about. In fact, the majority of people experience food poisoning at least once in their lifetime. While it can be a fairly common occurrence, legal action could be taken in some instances.

Before determining what you will need to prove your legal claim of suffering a foodborne illness, let’s discuss what food poisoning actually is.

When you suffer food poisoning, you are suffering from bacteria or a virus that is consumed in the food you eat. The food can become contaminated by being undercooked or raw; prepared by dirty hands or utensils; and/or not being stored at the right temperature.

The symptoms of a foodborne illness include headaches, nausea, vomiting, fever, and related physical illnesses. These symptoms can last up to 48 hours after they initially occur.

Proving your food poisoning may be rather difficult because it can be hard to trace what exactly caused you to become sick in the first place. To be successful in proving your food poisoning incident, you must show that the food you ate was contaminated and was the same food that contaminated you with bacteria or a virus. An important factor when proving which food made you sick is finding other people who suffered a similar illness from eating the same thing.

Now that you know what food poisoning is and how you can get the proper proof, it is time to place the proper blame on who caused your foodborne illness.

Cases and claims of food poisoning can fall under multiple categories. While these types of cases are sometimes personal injury claims, most of them fall under claims of product liability, negligence, and breaches of warranty (in rare cases, a wrongful death action can be filed). For example, a restaurant can be held liable for negligence if it’s found they didn’t provide a safe and clean environment for food. When this and other examples of contaminated food cause you to get sick, you can be eligible for these recoverable damages:

• Medical bills
• Lost income
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress

If you are a victim of food poisoning or if you know someone who has suffered a foodborne illness, you will need an experienced attorney on your side. Contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone today to set up a consultation.