If you ate food in a restaurant contaminated by viruses, parasites, or bacteria and became ill, it is possible to sue the restaurant. You cannot see the contaminants with your naked eyes, so it is impossible to tell if the food is bad. After food poisoning, you may experience symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. Food poisoning effects are mild. However, if it goes without being treated for a long time, it can cause severe medical complications or even death. Food poisoning can occur in a restaurant if it fails to employ proper food preservation measures or hygiene like hand-washing or food handling techniques. Therefore, if you develop food poisoning after eating at a restaurant, you may want to take legal action. Here is how to go about it.
Hiring a Lawyer for a Food Poisoning Case
Suppose you think you should take legal action against the restaurant for food poisoning. In that case, hiring a Tampa Bay personal injury lawyer with experience handling food poisoning cases in restaurants may be a good idea. The professional will help collect all the evidence you need to build your case. They will also ensure you are accounted for for all the damages you have suffered from the incident. If the restaurant is reluctant to settle, you may need to go to court. The lawyer will be a valuable asset to represent you and help you succeed.
Causes of Food Poisoning
As mentioned, food poisoning can happen due to bacteria, parasites, and viruses in the food. Such contaminants can find their way to the food in various ways. Such include:
- Cross-contamination
Food contamination can also happen when it comes into contact with equipment, surfaces, and other items that are already contaminated.
- Improper Storage
Food can get contaminated if it is not properly stored according to standards like temperature and humidity. For example, raw meat must be stored in cold temperatures to prevent contamination by parasites and bacteria. Food must also be cooked and stored at appropriate temperatures to prevent bacteria from growing.
- Poor Hygiene
If a sick employee handles food in a restaurant poorly, they increase the chances of contaminating it. A person could carry a virus or bacteria that may find their way into the food due to poor handling and hygiene.
Proving You Got Food Poisoning from the Restaurant
Before you start building the case, you will need to confirm that you developed food poisoning from the food you ate at the Tampa Bay restaurant. To prove this, you need satisfying evidence that the restaurant was negligent. Therefore, you will need proof that the restaurant has the duty to confirm the safety of its food. You will also need proof that the restaurant breached this duty and served poisoned food. You must also prove that the food was poisoned. It is also necessary to prove you incurred damages from the illness acquired from the food poisoning.
Key Takeaways
Proving causation and liability in a food poisoning case is not easy. That is why you need the expertise of an experienced person. A personal injury lawyer in Tampa Bay will help prove you developed food poisoning from the restaurant and that you deserve compensation for the damages caused.