Food poisoning is no longer something that happens every once in a while after a bad restaurant experience – it is happening on a nationwide scale due to negligence by food product manufacturers that cater to large grocery chains. Although government agencies and trade organizations work to control food poisoning, these outbreaks are occurring at a seemingly breakneck pace. Almost every week new food recalls are announced – but for some people those recalls are too late.
The consequences of food poisoning are serious: Approximately 1 in 6 Americans (48 million people) contracts a food-borne illness every year, while 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die because of food poisoning. Wondering whether you have a case? Read on!
If You Have Been the Victim of Food-Borne Illness
Practically every type of food industry is capable of the negligence related to food poisoning. Here are some of the most common industries cited for contamination:
- Chicken
- Beef
- Peanut Butter
- Dairy
- Spinach
- Pet food
- Frozen foods
According to the CDC, there are eight known pathogens that account for the majority of illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. Listed below are the pathogens most responsible for hospitalizations and deaths:
- Salmonella
- Norovirus
- E.coli
- Toxoplasma
- Campylobacter
- Listeria
Get Help for Your Dallas Food Poisoning Claim
If you have suffered food poisoning from any type of food, you may be entitled to compensation by the manufacturer or distributor for the injuries that you have sustained. An injury lawyer who has experience with food poisoning cases can help you prove the cause of your illness and the damages that resulted from eating contaminated food. The attorneys at Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP can help answer any questions you have regarding your food poisoning case.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How sick can you really get from consuming contaminated food?
The severity of food poisoning is affected by your age, general health, the type of food poisoning pathogen and how much contaminated food you’ve eaten. Common food poisoning symptoms include:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Fever
- Headache
- Severe exhaustion
- Abdominal cramping
- Blood or pus in stools
Symptoms can start appearing just 30 minutes after eating the contaminated food, though more often it takes days and sometimes even weeks. Commonly, symptoms only last for a few days, but in more severe cases they can persevere for up to 10 days. Healthy people will usually recover quite fast from food poisoning and won’t sustain any lasting conditions. For the very young and the very old however, food poisoning can cause quite severe health problems and even have deadly consequences. People with certain health conditions might also suffer much worse from food poisoning.
2. Is food poisoning hard to diagnose?
Food poisoning is often mistaken for stomach flu because the symptoms are quite similar. Also, because the symptoms often only appear after a few days, many people don’t associate their illness with the food they consumed.
3. Will I be able to retrieve compensation for my food poisoning?
Because there is often a delay between the consumption of contaminated food and the onset of the first symptoms, it is often difficult to pinpoint and prove what food has caused the food poisoning. If there has been a government health agency warning or food recall regarding the food that you have eaten or a lot of other people have gotten ill after eating this particular food, it will be easier to link your illness with the contaminated food. If you have been severely ill due to food poisoning and suspect you know what caused it, it is important that you act as fast as possible. Contact a Dallas personal injury attorney who can help you investigate your food poisoning and determine whether you may be able to get compensated for your injuries.
4. How can a food poisoning claim be proven?
In order to prove a food poisoning case, you need to be able to show that the food you consumed was contaminated and that this contamination caused your illness. Pinpointing the food that caused your illness and proving that it was contaminated is not easy. In the best case scenario a government health agency conducts scientific tests on the food that you ate in an investigation of a food poisoning outbreak.
To prove that the contaminated food caused your illness, you should have a stool sample tested for traces of the microbes that were also present in the contaminated food.
5. What is a class action lawsuit?
If many people got ill after an outbreak of food poisoning, you may be able to file a class action lawsuit with other victims against the manufacturers and distributors of the contaminated food. If there already is a class action lawsuit filed, you may be able to join this lawsuit. Even if there already is a class action lawsuit in progress, you can still file your own lawsuit. An attorney will be able to find out if there already is a class action lawsuit regarding the same outbreak you were a victim of and can advise you whether it is a good idea to join that lawsuit or not.
6. Do I really need a lawyer if I have been a victim of food poisoning?
Depending on the severity of the illness you sustained from eating the contaminated food, it might be a good idea to consult with a lawyer about the options which are available to retrieve compensation for your damages. If you were only mildly ill for a few hours or a day, and can’t really remember what you have eaten that might have caused your illness, it will be difficult to file and win a food poisoning injury claim. If however your illness was more serious, and especially if there has been an outbreak of food poisoning, you should very much consider talking to an attorney to evaluate your case. Because of the complexity that is involved in proving a food poisoning case, it is very difficult to win such a case without the help of an experienced attorney.
Take Action Now by Calling (214) 231-0555
At Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP, we have the litigation experience needed to hold these companies accountable for their product mismanagement and endangerment of society. As a victim, you deserve compensation for the suffering you’ve endured. These cases are complex and science-based, but our experts in the field can evaluate the evidence and help build a winning case.
Contact us online or at (214) 231-0555 to discuss your food poisoning claim with an attorney today.