Foodborne illnesses and food poisoning contracted by unsafe food preparation and service can cause serious health hazards. Depending on the severity of the affliction, you could suffer dehydration, persistent vomiting and indigestion, and high fevers that require hospitalization to alleviate. When you go to a professional eatery or restaurant, you should expect that you are paying for proper food preparation that will not get you sick later. However, people catch a dangerous foodborne illness from restaurants everyday across the country. If this happens to you or a loved one, can you file a claim against the restaurant proprietor? Yes, you do have the right to seek damages from anyone who hurts you wrongfully, including people responsible for you contracting a serious illness. Proving that a restaurant caused your food poisoning can be difficult, though. Foodborne illnesses can trigger different symptoms in different people. Furthermore, someone might experience symptoms within an hour or so, but the next person might not get sick until a day later. It depends on their digestive and immune systems. To establish the link between a restaurant and your food poisoning, consider the following hints:
- Keep leftovers: If you have any of the food that got you sick as leftovers, do not throw it away. Photograph anything on or in the food that might indicate improper preparation, such as a piece of chicken that is pink on the inside. Take a sample of the food and preserve it as best you can. In some high-stakes foodborne illness claims, testing the food for bacteria and parasites might be necessary.
- Create a timeline: It can be helpful to catalogue a timeline of your illness as best you can. Save your receipt from the eatery to show about when your food would have been brought to you and ingested. Try to note when your symptoms developed as well. Doing so could show that you got sick a predictable amount of time after visiting the restaurant.
- Check reviews: By demonstrating a history of negligence at the eating establishment, you can further improve your argument’s validity. Take a look at customer reviews that describe stories of similar foodborne illnesses, and do not forget to check the eatery’s official health rating from local departments of health, like the blue A’s you see in the windows of respectable establishments.
- Prove illness and damages: Getting sick is unenjoyable at best, but it is not always grounds for an injury claim or lawsuit. For a court to accept your claim, you usually have to show you suffered real damages. If you were hospitalized, get your medical records and bills in order. If you missed work, you might be able to pursue lost wages if you can prove it with a copy of a timesheet.
Toledo’s Trusted Name in Premises Liability Representation
Trying to pursue damages from a restaurant or diner that made you seriously sick due to a foodborne illness can be intimidating. If the eatery is part of a chain or backed by a large organization, it might be possible that there will be a team of defense attorneys working against you. Even the odds and gain the advantage by retaining the services of Williams DeClark Tuschman Co., L.P.A. and our personal injury lawyers in Toledo. With more than 100 years of collective legal experience, we are the go-to law firm the people of Ohio trust. Discuss your options with us by adding a free consultation to your calendar.