Food Poisoning Attorneys

Salmonella

People generally contract salmonella by ingesting food or beverages that have been in contact with animal feces or with an infected animal. An estimated 1.35 million infections and 420 deaths related to salmonella occur each year in the United States. 

Listeria

Listeria occurs when someone eats food that has been contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The bacteria can be found in uncooked meats, vegetables, non-pasteurized milk products, and deli meats.

E. Coli

One study found that around 73,480 Escherichia coli (E. coli) infections occur every year in the United States. E. coli can be caused by unsafe food preparation, undercooked meat, drinking raw milk or contaminated water.

Botulism

Botulism is a rare but serious illness that is caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulism. People who contract botulism are at risk for paralysis and death. Foodborne botulism can be caused by home-canned foods such as beets, corn, and asparagus. However, botulism can be contracted from commercially canned food products as well.

Campylobacter

People usually contract Campylobacter from contaminated food or water, raw poultry, fresh produce, and unpasteurized food. One of the most common causes of “traveler’s diarrhea” is the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni.

Giardia

Unlike many other foodborne illnesses, giardia is caused by a parasite. Giardia is generally caused by drinking contaminated water.

Norovirus

Norovirus, also known as stomach flu, is a very contagious virus that causes 19 to 21 million illnesses every year. The virus can be contracted from contact with another infected person, by touching a contaminated surface or eating contaminated foods.

In each type of legal case, there are different concerns that will vary according to the specific type of lawsuit being filed. Food poisoning lawsuits have their own unique concerns. Here are some practical issues involved when considering a food poisoning lawsuit:

• It is not unusual for individuals to fall ill from food poisoning a few days after consuming contaminated food. This can make it difficult to determine exactly which food is responsible.
• The individual bringing the lawsuit must show legal liability of the responsible party based on the state’s product liability laws. This is in addition to proving that a certain consumed food product was contaminated and caused the illness.
• If a food poisoning case isn’t serious enough, the time and expense of a legal suit would not prove to be worthwhile.

The final point mentioned above should not be taken to mean that there are not full-blown cases of food poisoning that absolutely address each of these concerns. There are definitely clear-cut instances of restaurant items or packaged foods that cause food poisoning.

If a number of people are suffering from food poisoning at the same time, this makes the job of proving that a certain food was contaminated much easier. If the injury is severe enough to require hospitalization, a personal injury lawsuit may be more financially worthwhile. If food poisoning causes death, surviving family members may choose to file a wrongful death suit to recover compensation.

Food poisoning cases present one of the greatest challenges in proving a claim. Basically, two specific points must be proven to have a successful legal outcome. They are:

• A food item was contaminated
• The contamination caused illness

A Food Item Was Contaminated

Proof must be given that a certain food item made the victim sick. Given the time delay that can occur between ingesting a contaminated item and the actual onset of symptoms, it helps if others also became sick from the same product. Otherwise, it can be hard to specifically determine what made the victim ill.

When the government’s health agency traces a food-poisoning outbreak to the source, a victim’s case is much easier to prove. Scientific testing done by the agency helps identify which disease-causing microbes are responsible for contaminating the food consumed by the victim.

The Contamination Caused Illness

In order to adequately prove that the contaminated food caused the victim’s illness, a very effective way to do this is by having a scientific test for food poisoning done on a stool sample. If the test results show the stool contains the same illness-causing microbes as the contaminated food, the food poisoning legal claim is strengthened.

If individuals have been sickened in an outbreak of food poisoning where large numbers of other people have as well, all of the victims could potentially band together to file a food poisoning class action lawsuit. In some instances, a class action lawsuit has already been filed, and an individual could possibly join the existing case.

There are several advantages to joining a class action suit that already exists, such as:

• The lawyers in the class action suit will become the new plaintiff’s attorneys and will likely have considerable expertise and experience in handling large cases against giant corporations.
• There may be very minimal or no cost upfront.
• The attorneys will handle all complex legal issues, relieving the victim of this stress.

If, however, an individual is uncomfortable joining an already-existing class action suit, the injured person can bring a personal lawsuit instead. It is wise, though, to determine whether a class action suit does exist concerning the food poisoning issue directly affecting the victim. Attorneys involved in the class action may very likely be interested in speaking with this victim. Most of the time, an initial consultation is free of charge.