Suffering food poisoning, what to do?
- Written by Gurcan Arda Seyman
Public places are liable for the wellness of their clients or visitors. Restaurants, shopping malls, coffee shops and all the others in the food services are obliged to provide services to their customers in accepted standards. In case of a health problem, the customers have every right to take legal action. Not only for food poisoning, but the clients also can make a public liability compensation claim for burns to skin, slip trip & falls, for injuries sustained in playgrounds operated by restaurants and in many other situations. In recent times, millions of dollars of compensation was 3paid to the victims of a breach of care.
Popular food poisoning lawsuits
Chipotle’s record $25m fine for food poisoning
The New York Times reported, the famous fast food chain Chipotle agreed to pay a record $25m fine for the food poisoned clients.
‘’Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday agreed to pay $25 million to resolve criminal charges accusing the fast-food company of serving tainted food from 2015 to 2018, sickening over 1,100 people in the United States, federal prosecutors said’’.
Not only the fine but, Chipotle also had to spend millions to upgrade their food safety program to ensure such an accident will not arise again.
Sizzler Restaurants’ $13.5m settlement due to E. coli outbreak in 2000.
According to the dailymeal.com, in Wisconsin, a three years old girl died after being infected with E. coli. ‘Watermelon that was cross-contaminated by raw meat was the source of an E. coli outbreak at two Sizzler restaurants in Wisconsin in 2000. 64 cases of the disease were confirmed, and a three year-old girl died. The girl’s family reached a $13.5 million settlement with the chain’s meat supplier eight years later.’
Those statistics demonstrate that under the laws, the customers and the clients are protected sincerely. If you ever suffer food poisoning, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
How can I compensate for my loss?
Under the public liability law, you can compensate for your loss, your injuries and/or illnesses and your non-economic loss if you suffer food poisoning. You may be entitled to receive compensation for medical expenses, past and future loss of income, loss of earning capacity, travel expenses to and from the appointments, if necessary and reasonable, domestic help, and mental and physical pain and suffering.
You may be entitled to receive lump sum payment for your non-economic loss. Which is under the laws, defined as pain & suffering, loss of expectations of life, loss of amenities of life and disfigurements. You can claim lump sum compensation if the severity of your non-economic loss is at least 15% of the most extreme case.
What is public liability compensation?
A person, suffering injuries or illnesses in a public place or a property where someone else is liable for can make a public liability compensation claim. Under the laws, the keeper of public places or properties should fulfil their duties of care by providing services in accepted standards. If they fail to take precautions that would end up as an injury or an illness, this is a situation of breach of duty and the injured person can take legal action. Not only for food poisoning cases, but compensation can also be claimed in situations includes negligence such as slips and falls in parking lots, cuts due to shattered glass in restaurants, sporting accidents, maritime and aviation accidents and damages on the skin due to harmful chemicals. Note that these are only a very small part of many possible public liability situations. You can assess your situation on your own with the help of a detailed guide of public negligence claims. You can seek legal aid and have your situation evaluated by a professional public liability compensation lawyer and have a full understanding of your entitlements.