Pursing Legal Action Against a Restaurant for Food Poisoning
If you suspect you were sickened while eating at a restaurant, you may want to consider speaking with a top food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD has to offer. The attorneys at Cohen & Cohen have helped many victims of food poisoning recover damages from restaurants.
A Cheverly MD food poisoning lawyer may work with you to determine which party or parties should be held accountable for your suffering and medical costs. In the most extreme cases, food poisoning can cause death. Cohen & Cohen is experienced in pursuing wrongful death suits on the part of family members who have lost loved ones due to injury or illness.
Food Poisoning Happens Every Day
An estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that 76 million Americans fall victim to foodborne illnesses annually. Around 325,000 of those food poisoning victims must be hospitalized, and about 5,000 die. Many food poisoning cases occur from food served in restaurants, which can be held liable for incidences of food poisoning. Contact the law firm of Cohen & Cohen if you would like to speak with a food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD trusts.
Common Food Poisoning Symptoms
Symptoms vary from person to person, and are also based on the severity of the food poisoning. If you experience any of the following symptoms, it may be advisable to seek medical assistance:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea, which may be bloody
- Fever
- Malaise
- Severe cramping
- Abdominal pain
Recovering Damages from the Restaurant
In the most severe cases, when someone has passed away because of food poisoning, a wrongful death suit can be costly for a restaurant found liable for causing it. After meeting with a food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD recommends, you may have a clearer picture of what damages you stand to recover in a settlement or lawsuit. Generally, they may include the following costs:
- Medical
- Medications
- Follow-up physician visits
- Ambulance costs
- Testing and lab fees
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- In a wrongful death suit, the following additional damages may also be recovered:
- Funeral costs and burial costs
- Loss of income and insurance benefits to victim’s surviving loved ones
- Loss of retirement benefits and pension
- Loss of companionship
Proving Your Case Against a Restaurant
Food poisoning that originates in restaurants is often caused by improperly prepared, or spoiled food. However, proving the restaurant is at fault usually requires the help of an experienced food poisoning lawyer in Cheverly MD.
Victims of food poisoning may wish to seek immediate medical assistance. As soon as you are able, contact a food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD locals refer you to. Once you have retained an attorney, additional steps will need to be taken:
- If the medical diagnosis comes back positive for food poisoning, your attorney will need to know the specifics of exactly which food-borne pathogen caused it.
- A doctor can perform a test called a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). This can determine the pathogen’s genetic fingerprint. It can greatly help your case if other patrons at the same restaurant matched that pathogen.
- Preserve any leftovers from the restaurant. They can be tested for the presence of the pathogen. The same theory holds true if the pathogen is present in several restaurants that purchase raw food from the same supplier.
- If the source of the food poisoning is an employee who was sick or who did not properly wash their hands, your attorney may initiate an investigation to confirm this. However, time is of the essence, and you may wish to contact a food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD victims recommend right away.
- Contact a food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD residents hire in similar cases, even if you aren’t absolutely sure which food caused your illness. Typically, an attorney will try to determine if anyone else suffered from food poisoning in the area at the same time. By determining patterns, the origin can often be identified.
A Restaurant’s Responsibility to Food Poisoning Victims
Food poisoning lawsuits that hold a restaurant liable can be complex, which is why it may be important to hire a skilled food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD provides. Certain criteria must be met for the lawsuit to move forward:
- The restaurant has a duty to serve customers food that is properly prepared and stored and will not sicken patrons with food poisoning.
- The plaintiff will have to prove that the restaurant did not meet safety standards, because they allowed kitchen staff to cook or prepare food with utensils or cookware that was not clean. Alternately, they may have improperly stored food which caused it to spoil.
- The plaintiff will have to prove that their illness was caused by food from that specific restaurant and not from somewhere else.
- Minor damages such as mild and temporary sickness are usually not sufficient to bring suit against a restaurant for food poisoning. A top food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD offers can review your specific case to see if it is advisable to bring suit. Sufficient damages must have occurred and be provable.
- Hospitalization, or lost wages from staying home from work due to the food poisoning, which may include pain and suffering
- Extreme mental anguish
Types of Food Poisoning
Various pathogens can cause food poisoning. An experienced food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD respects has probably worked with victims who have suffered from various pathogen-infected foods. There are over 250 kinds of diseases that experts have proved can cause food poisoning. More often than not, they are infections that develop due to bacteria present in the food. The most common causes of food poisoning are:
- Campylobacter (campylobacteriosis)
- Clostridium botulinum(botulism)
- E. coli (O157 or a similar strain)
- Vibrio(vibriosis)
- Shigella (shigellosis)
- Norovirus
- Salmonella (salmonellosis)
- Listeria (listeriosis)
- Hepatitis A
- Cyclospora (cyclosporiasis)
Call the law offices of Cohen & Cohen immediately, if you suspect you were a victim and would like to speak with a food poisoning lawyer Cheverly MD turns to for legal help.
