3 Things To Know About Suing A Restaurant For Food Poisoning

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 48 million Americans obtain some type of foodborne illness each year, and many of these cases occur after eating out at restaurants.  If you became extremely sick with food poisoning and can prove that it was caused by the food served at a restaurant, you may be able to sue the restaurant for personal injury.

Types of food poisoning

Food poisoning can occur in many ways, but it also involves spreading harmful bacteria or infections in some way, including the spread of:

  • E. coli
  • Salmonella
  • Cholera
  • Staphylococcus aureus

Bacteria can be spread in several ways, including:

  • Food contamination
  • Lack of refrigeration for necessary food items
  • Bad hand washing efforts by employees

When you eat at a restaurant, you expect the food to be completely safe to eat; however, this is not always the case.

Effects of food poisoning

If you have food poisoning, you might not know right away. It may start out as a minor stomach ache, but it could then develop into major diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and vomiting. If you do not recognize that it is food poisoning and decide to wait to seek treatment, it could lead to brain damage or other major health problems.

Elements needed to sue

Food poisoning is extremely dangerous and could lead to death if it is not properly treated. If you became violently ill after eating out and can prove that it was due to the food you were served, you could file a personal injury lawsuit against the restaurant. To do this, you will need a lawyer and you must prove:

  • That it was caused by the restaurant – This is often difficult to prove, unless you can find other cases of food poisoning that also occurred after eating at this particular restaurant.
  • The restaurant was negligent – One important element in a food poisoning case is proving that the restaurant could reasonably foresee this issue. In other words, if the bacteria was passed through meat that was not properly refrigerated, the restaurant would be considered negligent for this.
  • That you experienced damages – You may need to produce medical bills or hospital reports to prove that the food poisoning was severe.

If you have leftover food from that meal, you might be able to get it tested to determine if it contains any harmful bacteria.

To learn more about your rights relating to the food poisoning case you have, talk to a personal injury attorney such as Eric J. Moore Company, Attorneys At Law, that has experience with cases like this.


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