Couples around the world went out to their favorite restaurants last night to celebrate Valentine’s day. And the odds are that a few of them woke up (or never made it to sleep) with some form of food poisoning.
While food poisoning isn’t typically serious and usually passes within a few days or even hours, there are times where the effects are more pronounced. With things like E. coli and norovirus, the effects can not only be more serious, but they can potentially put you out of work for a long period of time if your case is more severe.
So what are your legal rights in these cases? In today’s blog post, Tolbert Beadle, LLC will examine the legitimacy of food poisoning claims and whether or not you could potentially sue for damages.
How Serious Was Your Illness?
This is the most important factor when it comes to the legal liability restaurants may or may not hold for food poisoning. If you went home, felt a little queasy, took some tums, and eventually fell asleep, Tolbert Beadle, LLC doesn’t recommend you seek legal damages. And even if your case was more severe, a day or two of being sick to your stomach isn’t exactly an airtight case.
For you to have a serious legal quarrel, your illness would likely have to put you in the hospital, and while that seems extreme, it isn’t all that uncommon. If you get the right case of E. coli, you could be out of commission for up to two weeks. A salmonella outbreak in 2009 wound up killing three people. These illnesses can be serious and they would have to be for you to provoke legal action.
What Constitutes Liability?
This is the tougher question to answer. It’s easy for the victim to know they have a serious case of food poisoning. It’s tougher to determine who, if anyone, is at fault. The most common legal theory used in these cases would be one of negligence, to which the victim claims that the provider of the food acted negligently in providing the food that caused the illness. The factors that play into this can be anything from improper preparation to old food being served.
Some states have adopted a strict product liability law, which more or less lowers the burden of proof for victims to simply proving that the food you ate was contaminated and that it was indeed that food that caused your sickness.
Tolbert Beadle, LLC Can Help With Your Legal Problems
At Tolbert Beadle, LLC, we are committed to your legal rights and getting you what you deserve. Tolbert Beadle, LLC will work for you to make sure you are treated fairly. Contact us today at 1-800-887-4030 or visit our website for more information.
