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Claims for Food Poisoning
If you've had food poisoning then Claims Justice may be able to help. Their Claims Advisers will talk about your experience and help you consider the possibility of making a claim for compensation. Thanks to their specialist team of solicitors and their No Win No Fee policy, Claims justice are ready to fight the case for you. And you are guaranteed to receive 100% of any compensation awarded.
Food Poisoning
If you've contracted food poisoning whilst eating in a restaurant, café or other eatery, it is automatically classed as a personal injury and as such, you could make a claim for compensation.
Usually the symptoms of food poisoning last a day or 2 and are accompanied by vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, dehydration, stomach cramps and stomach upsets. It's generally a rather nasty package!
Regrettably, food poisoning is a relatively common affliction and your local chemist will be well stocked with remedies. The UK Food Standards Agency have estimated that every year 5.5 million people in the UK suffer from food poisoning, but as many cases are quite mild, less than 100,000 of these cases are formally reported. However, in very serious cases, food poisoning can cause serious damage to the nervous system and even death.
Poor hygiene practices amongst people storing, handling and preparing food is the most common cause of food poisoning. Failure to follow even the basic rules such as washing hands, using dirty kitchen tools, failing to clean food preparation surfaces, storing raw meat with cooked meat, not controlling refrigeration temperatures etc all cause contamination. These food preparation standards are designed to prevent germs, bacteria, parasites or chemicals contaminating what we eat and drink and causing food poisoning.
Bacterial Food Poisoning
When the bacteria is present it may not alter the smell, appearance or taste of the food and consequently it's difficult to know that the food is harmful.
In the "right" conditions bacteria can multiply very fast and the more bacteria present in the food, the more likely it will be to causing food poisoning.
As many families eat together, it is not unusual for a whole family or a group of friends to contract food poisoning at the same meal.
The most common types of bacterial poisoning are salmonella, e-coli, botulism, and campylobacter. However, there are lots more.
Salmonella
Salmonella is most commonly found in poultry and other meats, eggs (and egg products such as mayonnaise), un-pasteurised milk, untreated water and seafood such as fish and prawns.
The Salmonella bacteria is killed by heat so it's vital to thoroughly cook these types of food and keep hand, preparation surfaces and storage ages totally clean to avoid transferring the bacteria to other foods. Indeed, cross contamination in restaurants through inadequately cleaned food preparation surfaces can lead to widespread outbreaks almost of epidemic proportions.
Salmonella can be very hard to eradicate in a kitchen and can create serious long term health problems for its victims. It can also lie dormant in its victims, reviving itself in outbreaks when the victim is generally unwell or just run down.
E-Coli
E-Coli is the more common name for a bacteria called escherichia coli. This is a type of bacteria typically lives in the lower intestines of healthy mammals (including humans). If this bacteria is transferred to food and the food is not cooked fully, it will cause food poisoning. That's why it is so important to wash your hands after visiting the WC and again when you start handling each type of food - as this will avoid transferring the bacteria from one type of food to another.
Botulism
Botulism is caused by a toxin produced by a bacterium called clostridium botulinum. Like salmonella, the botulin toxin is destroyed at high temperatures so if the food is thoroughly cooked it should not pose a problem. There have been cases of botulism caused by canned goods. If you notice a damaged can or one which seems to be bulging with air (some people call that "blown"), this could be a sign of bacteria multiplying and the can must be thrown away.
Campylobacter
Campylobacter is a bacteria commonly found in raw or undercooked meat and poultry, untreated water and un-pasteurised milk. The bacterium can be spread to other food sources by someone who has not followed the basic rules of food hygiene and not washed their hands properly.
Making a compensation claim for food poisoning
If you've suffered from food poisoning as a result of another person's negligence, you may be entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim for the pain and suffering you have endured. You may even be able to claim compensation if you contracted the food poisoning while you were on a package holiday.
Just fill in the online enquiry form and a Claims Adviser from Claims Justice will advise you what to do next and how the compensation process works. And of course, you'll benefit from Claims Justice's No Win No fee policy and you're guaranteed to receive 100% of any compensation award.
Providing it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that your food poisoning was caused by eating a specific meal, then the business that supplied that food is negligent and your claim for compensation should be valid.
In the meantime, you must retain any evidence which supports your claim for food poisoning and ensure that when you visit your Doctor or local hospital for treatment, you report the suspected cause of your illness. It is also helpful if you also report your illness to your local Environmental Health Inspector.
You should also keep as much evidence as you can. For example, you'll need the meal receipt from the restaurant or café. And if possible, keep any packaging together with any correspondence relating to the events. You'll also need to keep a note of anyone who has witnessed your illness first hand and those who ate with you. You'll also have to retain evidence supporting any expenses you incurred as a result of the illness such prescriptions or medication and evidence of any travelling expenses.
So don't delay, complete our online enquiry form and a Claims Adviser from Claims Justice will call you back. They'll listen to what happened and consider the evidence that supports your belief that a specific meal caused your illness. Then they'll advise you of the likelihood of your claim succeeding and possibly let you know the general level of compensation you could expect if your claim proved successful.
Then, if you want to proceed, they'll transfer your case to a specialist claims solicitor who will have an excellent track record in claiming for food poisoning.
Remember, you'll benefit from Claims Justice's No Win No fee policy and you're guaranteed to receive 100% of any compensation award.
Access 2 Justice is a trading name of Solutions 4U UK Ltd which is a company registered in England and Wales, registration number 06885656.
Access 2 Justice is also regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities and their reference number is CRM3433.
Details of their registration is recorded on the website www.claimsregulation.gov.uk. All pictures on this web site are posed by models.