If you are planning on suing someone or a restaurant for food poisoning, you will find this guide useful. It runs through some important points you need to know, like whether you need an attorney to file the charges, how much compensation you can expect, and what challenges you might face.

In my career, I’ve worked on quite a few food poisoning cases. So, I thought about answering this question, along with some additional information related to it. Keep reading to learn more.

Let’s get to it.

Can People Who Suffer from Food Poisoning Sue?

If you have suffered from food poisoning, you can definitely sue. Whether you win the case or not depends on how valid your personal injury case is. But if you were with multiple people and they each got sick, then your chances of winning becomes higher.

To be more specific, you can file a product liability lawsuit. It is basically a special kind of personal injury case that applies to food products that have made people sick. When you file one, you are able to sue and receive compensation for your medical costs, loss of income, and even emotional damages too.

Food poisoning lawsuits tend to be more successful when there is documentation of the specific food supply being contaminated, like a government agency confirming an outbreak. If you happened to suffer food poisoning from a mass outbreak, you might be able to even file a class-action lawsuit. This means that you can end up with a lot of cash.

What are Some Practical Concerns with Filing a Food Poisoning Lawsuit?

Before you sue, you should know that there are some practical difficulties that can come up. Most people become sick with food poisoning symptoms days after they have eaten the contaminated food. So, it is hard to pinpoint which restaurant was responsible for making you sick.

If you have somehow worked out which restaurant was responsible, you are still not out of the woods. The other party can use this argument and say that they weren’t responsible. And food poisoning cases usually aren’t that serious, so filing a lawsuit is not worth it. You would need solid proof, like timelines and photo evidence.

How Much Compensation Can You Get?

You can recover compensation for all kinds of damages, from economic to medical to even emotional. Medical expenses are usually the highest damages that are incurred when dealing with food poisoning, so you could take up a lot of cash if you happen to be admitted to the hospital for days.

Do I Need a Lawyer to Sue for Food Poisoning?

Technically, you can sue without a lawyer. However, this is something that I would advise against. It would be very difficult to win, especially if you have no legal knowledge and are going up against a large company.

Food safety is also taken very seriously, so there are many legal standards that apply to your case. You will have a hard time understanding them if you don’t have a lawyer by your side. In case you are interested in getting legal help, most law firms offer free consultations where you can meet a lawyer and start working on your case.

How Do You Hire a Safety Lawyer?

By far, the first thing that you should do is hire a lawyer to represent you. You can’t just hire anyone, though, as you need a special food safety attorney – a subtype of one of the personal injuries criminal practice areas.

You need to be careful when choosing the right lawyer to work with, as they should have a lot of experience and have won many cases like yours. One of the best pieces of advice when looking for an attorney is to go through reviews and see what others are saying. You might see that the specific lawyer you want to work with is not up to par if there are former clients’ reviews that mention they are not worthwhile.

Before I move on to the next point, know that there are many criminal case stages when it comes to suing for food poisoning – it’s pretty lengthy. So, I would advise you to look for a lawyer that is friendly, as you would have someone for support when things get tough.

And if you’re struggling to look for names to work with, there are special directories that you can visit with everyone who is available in the area.

Should You Go to A Hospital When Dealing with Food Poisoning?

You should go to a hospital if you are battling food poisoning, especially because it can get dangerous if you are severely dehydrated. The hospital will take good care of you and run all the tests that are needed so you can recover faster and get the right medication.

You should also head to the hospital to get expert reports saying that you were badly sick. This will be beneficial for your case. You can use this against the other party in your case. Plus, public health investigators would be able to piece together whether there was a mass outbreak and use your case as one of the victims if you rush to receive treatment.

Final Thoughts

As you saw from all of the points that were run through, you can definitely sue for food poisoning. Now, you have to consider whether you would be doing this yourself or with a lawyer. As mentioned, I advise you to hire a professional that has faced many cases like yours as this increases your chances of winning.

Another important point to note is that you should go to the hospital when battling food poisoning, as you would have a series of records to show how badly you were sick.

Find a Local Lawyer

Contact us

Can I Sue for Food Poisoning?