Whether you’re on vacation dining at a new restaurant or grabbing your favorite burrito at the local Mexican fast food spot, when you realize you ate something wrong it’s always far too late. If you have exerted all of your resources in resolving the issue at hand and feel that legal action is the last resort to taking care of medical expenses, then here’s what you need to know.
Who’s at Fault in a Food Poisoning Lawsuit?
The potential causes of food poisoning are limited to a few different things:
Negligence
Businesses have to exercise reasonable care just like every other person, which means that they have the legal duty to act reasonably in an effort to avoid injuring other people. In context to restaurants, ‘reasonable care’ refers to the maintenance of a safe environment and products (i.e. meals). A restaurant can breach this duty by not maintaining a clean kitchen or failing to store food safely.
Strict Products Liability
In short, strict product liability is a legal rule that says a store owner, wholesale distributor or manufacturer of a defective product is liable to a person injured by that product. The defendant’s degree of carefulness is disregarded, meaning that even if they did everything possible to make sure the defect did not happen the store owner, distributor, or manufacturer is still solely liable for any defect that caused harm to the consumer.
Breach of Warranty
There is generally an implied warranty under commercial state laws that suggests that a product will abide with buyer’s expectations and adhere to minimal quality specifications. Since contaminated food causes food poisoning, the consumer can claim that the food did not meet the minimal quality expectations of non-contaminated food.
Know What Damages are Accounted For
Most consumers are not aware of all the personal injuries related to food poisoning that qualify as legally recoverable damages. Some of these include:
– Medical bills
– Out-of-pocket expenses
– Lost income
– Emotional distress
– Pain and suffering
The business at fault is responsible for all recoverable damages caused by food poisoning.
Take Legal Action | Contact Laporte, Mulligan & Werner-Watkins for a Free Consultation
Unfortunately, food poisoning cases are a common occurrence with businesses being the culprits of selling contaminated food. While going through all the pain and suffering that food poisoning entails, legal action is often the last thing on your mind, which may mean you do not have the proof you need to take legal action. If you need professional help against your case then contacting one of the attorneys at Laporte, Mulligan & Werner-Watkins is your next step to serving justice.