Food Poisoning and the Law

Recovering from more severe food poisoning cases can take weeks. You may experience significant medical bills, lost wages, or develop a severe health condition, depending on the type of foodborne illness you contract.

Each case is different, but you may have a legal claim for damages. This article discusses food poisoning lawsuits and explains what to do if you or a loved one becomes sick after eating contaminated food.

You can also talk to an attorney for legal advice specific to you. A personal injury attorney near you can review your situation and advise on whether the defendant may be liable for your illness. If so, they will advocate for you throughout the legal process and fight for fair compensation.

Types of Food Poisoning

There are at least 250 types of food poisoning. However, most cases fall into one of three categories: bacterial, parasitic, and viral:

• Bacterial: E. coli, Clostridium botulinum, Shigella, Salmonella, Campylobacter
• Parasitic: Toxoplasma, Giardia intestinalis, Cryptosporidium
• Viral: Norovirus, Rotavirus, and Hepatitis A

More severe types of food poisoning, such as botulism, Hepatitis A, and vibriosis, can cause death. Listeria can also cause death in unborn fetuses.

Lack of Food Safety Puts Consumers at Risk

Food poisoning lawsuits are like any other product liability case. Your personal injury attorney must prove that the defendant was negligent or reckless. This can be difficult in the case of food poisoning.

While some food poisoning cases involve strict liability on the part of the defendant, your food poisoning lawyer must still prove your case. They’ll need to demonstrate that you ate food prepared or provided by the defendant, that the food was bad, and that you got sick.

Depending on the severity of your illness, your attorney may demand significant damages. For example, hospitalization cases are usually worth more than cases where the plaintiff recovered at home.

Your Food Poisoning Attorney Must Determine the Source of Contamination

Most food product cases involve food contamination. However, the way food bacteria taints your food can vary. Your attorney must show precisely how your food became contaminated. That’s the only way to hold the defendant responsible.

Bacteria can contaminate food in a variety of different ways, including:

• If someone with unclean hands prepares the food
• If the chef prepares the food using dirty cooking utensils
• If a chef or preparer doesn’t cook meat thoroughly
• If fish, oysters, or fruits are raw
• If the defendant doesn’t store the food at the right temperature

Symptoms of food poisoning can begin anywhere from two to six hours after eating the food and can last up to 48 hours. Some forms of food poisoning don’t appear until two or three days after consumption.

Symptoms usually include fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps, and weakness. The best way to treat food poisoning is to refuel with fluids and electrolytes, as dehydration is likely.

Is It Difficult To Prove Food Poisoning?

While it may not be hard to prove that you have food poisoning, it is difficult to prove who was responsible. It is hard to trace exactly what made you sick. You must first establish the food was contaminated to bring a successful claim. Then, your lawyer has to prove that the contaminated food made you ill.

This becomes harder if there is a long delay between eating the food and exhibiting symptoms. It’s easier to do this if other consumers have gotten sick after consuming the food product.

Liability of Food Manufacturers

In many food poisoning cases, the manufacturer is to blame. Perhaps they used a recipe that contains dangerous ingredients such as raw meat or fish. They can also be liable if their production process is unsafe.

Many product liability cases involve strict liability. In these product liability claims, the manufacturer is liable regardless of whether they were negligent. Your attorney must prove that the defendant sold a defective product, which made you sick.

They don’t need to show that the manufacturer made a mistake during production. Nor do they have to prove that they used a flawed design. Under the strict liability theory, it’s enough that they used tainted food.

Liability of Food Distributors

Sometimes, plaintiffs in food poisoning lawsuits can pursue the distributor. Grocery stores and other sellers may be liable for issues introduced during the shipping and storage of foods. 

Imagine that you went to the store and bought hamburger meat to make lasagna. You cooked the meat and used clean utensils. A few hours after your guests eat dinner, they fall ill. You learn that the hamburger had been left out of the cooler overnight at the grocery store.

Grocery stores, convenience stores, and other distributors and retailers must sell safe products. When a store sells a food product, the product comes with a warranty that it is safe. By selling contaminated or tainted hamburger meat, the grocery store breaches the warranty of merchantability. Your personal injury lawyer can file suit for breach of warranty.

Liability of Restaurants and Individuals

Many food poisoning claims involve restaurants and individuals who prepare food. If a restaurant owner or manager doesn’t correctly store their ingredients, they can be liable for negligence.

Chefs must also prepare and cook the food according to food safety standards. They can be liable for damages if they use dirty utensils or fail to cook raw meat to the appropriate temperature.

How To File a Food Poisoning Lawsuit

You may have a valid claim for damages if you develop food poisoning after eating contaminated meat, fruit, vegetables, fish, or other food products. You must take steps to protect your legal rights in these situations.

First, discard the remaining food, making sure you retain a sample of the tainted food for evidence. Second, visit a doctor or go to the emergency room. They’ll run the necessary tests to discover the cause of your illness. If they determine that contaminated or spoiled food caused your condition, they’ll document this in your medical records.

Once you receive medical attention, inform the local health department of the problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) directory can help you find your area’s health department.

Then, contact an experienced personal injury attorney. They’ll give you the best legal advice to help determine your next steps. They’ll also contact the defendant and try to settle your personal injury claim. They will file a lawsuit against all responsible parties if this isn’t possible.

What Damages Can You Recover in Your Food Poisoning Lawsuit?

Once you file suit, your lawyer will gather the necessary evidence to prove your claim. They will also collect information to verify your damages. In most food poisoning cases, plaintiffs demand the following types of damages:

• Medical expenses and future medical bills
• Lost wages and lost future income
• Property damage (if any)
• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Punitive damages

Remember that judges don’t often award victims of food poisoning punitive damages. Your attorney must prove that the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly to receive damages.

Unique Food Poisoning Cases

Any food can become dangerous if contaminated or left out for too long. But certain foods are hazardous regardless of how carefully they are handled or prepared.

Some of the unique food dangers include:

• Ackee fruit from Jamaica: This Jamaican fruit is toxic for humans if eaten raw. It can cause a condition called “Jamaican Vomiting Sickness,” which involves vomiting, altered mental states, and hypoglycemia. This fruit can cause seizures, hypothermia, coma, and even death in extreme cases.

• Pufferfish is an Asian delicacy. Chefs must undergo special training to cut the fish. Otherwise, the toxic poison—tetrodotoxin—can paralyze the person who eats it. Pufferfish can also cause fugu poisoning, which can prove lethal.
• Elderberries: If eaten raw or before ripened, elderberries or elderberry jam can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Rhubarb leaves: People may suffer from oxalic acid poisoning if they eat them in large quantities.
• Cassava: This food has naturally occurring hydrogen cyanide. Don’t eat it raw. If a chef doesn’t prepare it properly, it can be poisoning and even life-threatening.

It is impossible to list all of the foods that can be harmful. Some of the other most dangerous foods include cashews, cherry pits, avocados, apricots, bitter almonds, and apple seeds.

Other Ways Food Can Be Dangerous

The McDonald’s coffee scalding case is one of the most famous modern food injury lawsuits. McDonald’s, like most other restaurants, served its coffee piping hot. Hundreds of people had already reported injuries.

When a 79-year-old woman spilled coffee on her lap at the McDonald’s drive-thru, she received third-degree burns. A jury awarded her $2.7 million for pain and suffering. They also awarded her punitive damages. A judge reduced her judgment on appeal, and ultimately, there was a private settlement.

Food warning labels and disclaimers may sufficiently protect a company from legal liability. For example, many products carry warning labels that there could be cross-contamination with allergens.

But there have been other lawsuits involving dangerous foods. For example, a consumer sued Tyson after finding pieces of metal in their chicken. In 2019, the Washington Post reported that Tyson recalled 17 million pounds of the company’s meat products containing bits of glass, plastic, metal, or other materials.

The Food Recall Process and Public Health

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for the regulation and safety standards of approximately 80% of the U.S. food supply. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) regulates the remaining 20% of foods, primarily meat and egg products.

Food manufacturers and distributors typically initiate food recalls. The FDA can also request them. Because food recalls are expensive and stigmatizing, food companies try to resolve problems as quickly as possible.

Take Legal Action: Contact a Lawyer

A lawyer can help protect your legal rights if you’ve suffered a severe case of food poisoning and think you can trace it to a specific food. While you may be able to settle your injury claim by yourself, the defendant will likely have an expert attorney working for them

A local attorney can determine if you have a strong wrongful death or personal injury case. FindLaw’s directory of personal injury attorneys can connect you with legal advisors in your area. Select your state or city to review contact and ratings information for local experts. Your search results will also link you to additional details about the attorneys’ experience with foodborne illness cases.