Food poisoning is extremely common in the United States. According to the Food and Drug Administration, there are over 76 million cases of food-related illnesses in the US every year. Even some of the biggest chains in the country have fallen prone to these incidents, unwittingly spreading norovirus and E. coli. While most cases of food poisoning are solved with a round medications and intensive care, others can turn deadly.

Food Poisoning And Liability

Food poisoning is often treated as a product liability or negligence situation. The parties who could be held liable can begin from the food distributor all the way up to the person who served the food. This means the distributor, supplier, manufacturer, server, or more could all be held liable. The contamination that can cause food poisoning can begin anywhere in the process – finding the liable party is an important first step.

Evidence Of Food Poisoning

Proving that food poisoning was caused by a specific restaurant’s negligence can be difficult because of the amount of time it can take for a meal to make a person sick. A person could eat a meal for breakfast and carry on during the day as normal and eat lunch, only for the breakfast to come in and make them sick after that. One must prove that food was contaminated and specifically made the person sick. This often involves lab work and stool samples.

Deadly Cases

In cases where a person has died as a result of food poisoning, tests are carried out via autopsy. Medical records are taken into consideration for evidence of food contamination and poisoning. A lawsuit could be carried out for wrongful death by gross negligence.

Determining liability in a deadly food poisoning case can be difficult but it’s not impossible. If you or a loved one have been injured by contaminated food, or if you’ve lost a loved one to a food poisoning complication, you need an experienced lawyer who could help. Contact the law offices of Salter Ferguson today to schedule your case consultation. You could be eligible for compensation regarding your injuries, medical costs and more.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney/client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.