Should You Sue for Food Poisoning?
Few people forget their first bout with food poisoning—the vomiting, the light-headedness, the…. Well, you get the picture. If you’ve been poisoned by poorly-cooked food, you might wonder whether you can seek financial compensation for your injuries. Read on to understand the factors you should take into consideration.
How Much Have You Suffered in Damages?
The purpose of a lawsuit is to sue for financial compensation so that you can be made “whole.” This basically means putting you in the position you would have been had you never gotten sick. A bout with food poisoning that causes you to be sick on the weekend might not really have cost you any time or money. Even missing one day from work might only have cost you a couple hundred dollars. You need to weigh this economic loss relative to the time and energy it takes to bring a successful lawsuit. Although you might have a valid legal claim, it might not be worth pursuing it if you aren’t seeking a lot of money.
Of course, this isn’t to say that food poisoning never causes serious losses. Serious food-borne illnesses like salmonella or E. coli can send patients to the hospital for weeks or longer. Victims miss many days of work and also suffer from serious pain and suffering. In these situations, a lawsuit makes perfect sense.
To estimate how much you have suffered in damages, do the following:
- Add up all sums spent for medical care to treat the illness.
- Calculate how much money you have lost by missing work as a result of your food poisoning.
Do You Have Proof it was Food Poisoning?
You can only hold a restaurant or other establishment legally responsible for your illness if you can prove their actions caused you to become sick. This means you need to credibly rule out other causes. For example, your illness might have been just a 24-hour bug that was going around at work. Or it might have been caused by something else you cooked at home and consumed in the past day.
Look closely at what else you have eaten and check whether it might have made you sick. If you have leftovers, then those can be tested. Also read the newspaper or check local message boards. Often, people are poisoned in bunches, so other people might have reported getting sick after eating at a certain establishment.
Have You Considered Other Options?
If you think poorly cooked food poisoned you but don’t believe you suffered enough loss to bring a lawsuit, you can still receive compensation. For example, you can talk to the restaurant and tell them that you think they made you sick. You can ask that you be reimbursed for the cost of the meal. Show them your credit card bill or receipt.
You can also report restaurants and other establishments to the Florida Department of Health. They can investigate whether the restaurant’s kitchen is unsanitary and can fine them. Of course, this doesn’t help you receive compensation, but you can enjoy a measure of satisfaction in knowing that the restaurant is cleaning up its act.
Speak with a Daytona Beach Personal Injury Attorney if You Have Questions
When food poisoning sends you to the hospital, you can expect medical bills to soon start arriving in your mailbox. At Bundza & Rodriguez in Daytona Beach, we help personal injury victims get the compensation to cover these and other losses. To schedule a free consultation, please contact us right away.
Resource:
floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/food-and-waterborne-disease/how-to-report-a-problem-with-food-in-florida.html
