Can I File a Food Poisoning Lawsuit?

Foodborne illness and food poisoning cases are pretty common, and some widespread food contamination problems even make headlines. When a restaurant, grocery store, manufacturer, or other food distributor might be to blame for food-related illness, customers may have a right to sue over the harm they've suffered. But these kinds of cases are very tough to win. Here's what you need to know before you decide to file a personal injury lawsuit over a food poisoning incident.

What Is Food Poisoning?

Food poisoning is a type of foodborne illness caused by the presence of contaminants—including bacteria, viruses, and toxins—in food or beverages, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Contaminants that can cause food poisoning include:

• e. coli
• hepatitis
• norovirus
• rotavirus
• salmonella
• listeria
• shigella, and
• staphylococcus.

Food poisoning incidents usually result in vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration. It's rare, but more serious cases can cause kidney problems, bacteria in the bloodstream, meningitis, and sepsis. When elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised people get food poisoning, the impact tends to be more serious.

Who Is Liable for Food Poisoning and Food-Related Illness?

Depending on the specifics of the situation, liability for food poisoning might fall on:

• the manufacturer of a food or beverage that's become tainted somewhere in its production and packaging for sale to the public
• the seller of fresh or packaged food at a market or other business, and
• a restaurant, food truck, or other business that prepares and sells food to customers.

A number of different legal arguments can be used to hold a business liable when a customer or patron is sickened in a food poisoning incident. Let's look at the possibilities.

Food Poisoning and Negligence-Based Claims

A business has a duty to exercise reasonable care when it comes to its customers and patrons. If the business doesn't fulfill this duty and someone is harmed (i.e. they get sick), there may be a claim for negligence against the business.

In the context of a food poisoning case, "reasonable care" usually means:

• maintaining a safe and sanitary environment for food production, storage, and sale
• periodically inspecting facilities, machinery, and products to make sure health and safety standards are being met, and
• identifying and fixing problems that could lead to tainted food.

Learn more about proving negligence in a personal injury case.

Food Poisoning and "Product Liability" Claims

Under a legal theory known as product liability, a customer who has been sickened by contaminated food might be able to bring a case against the manufacturer or seller. The customer will need to show that:

• the food was defective and unreasonably dangerous (i.e. it was contaminated with a bacteria or virus), and
• the food caused an illness.

There's no requirement of showing lack of reasonable care (this is the main way that strict liability differs from negligence). And everyone in the chain of distribution might be on the legal hook, including the food distributor, retailer, wholesaler, and manufacturer.

Food Poisoning and "Breach of Warranty"

When any kind of product is sold, there's generally an implied guarantee (or "warranty") that the product will be in line with an ordinary buyer's expectations, including in terms of safety and quality. So, when a food or beverage is linked to a case of food poisoning, an injured consumer might have a "breach of warranty" claim against the business that manufacturer or sold the item. Like the product liability argument we discussed above, a breach of warranty claim can usually follow the affected food product through the chain of distribution.

Food Poisoning Lawsuits: What Can You Sue For?

When food poisoning causes illness and injuries, legally recoverable compensation ("damages") can include:

• medical bills
• lost income
• out-of-pocket expenses, and
• mental and physical pain and suffering.

Should I Sue a Restaurant for Food Poisoning?

This is a common question, but it might not be the best one to ask when it comes to personal injury lawsuits over food poisoning. If you ate at a particular restaurant and became sick afterward, you might suspect that something in the food or some factor related to the restaurant’s sanitation caused your illness. And you might be right.

But in these cases, the better questions to ask might be: Can you prove that the restaurant is legally at fault for causing your illness? And if so, did you actually suffer a level of harm that might justify expending the time and money to file a personal injury claim?

Can You Prove That the Restaurant Is To Blame For Your Illness?

You might have a strong suspicion that it was a particular dinner at a particular restaurant that made you sick. But this can be difficult to prove, especially if any significant amount of time has passed between the meal and your illness.

It’s important to consider (especially since you can rest assured that the restaurant and anyone else you sue will ask) whether something else made you sick. Could it just be the stomach flu? Could the culprit be something else you ate?

Even in rare cases where you happen to have evidence that might prove that the restaurant’s food was tainted (you’ve got leftovers in a doggy bag in your fridge), it’s likely not conclusive evidence. Let’s say you have the leftovers tested and lab analysis reveals the presence of harmful bacteria in the food. If you sue the restaurant, they’re going to turn around and claim that something happened to the food after it left the restaurant—you left it unrefrigerated or allowed it to become contaminated in some other way. (Get more information on evidence in a personal injury case.)

You have a much easier path to a successful legal claim over food poisoning if you’re not the only one who was affected. In some cases, a product recall or a health agency warning will apply to certain food products. In situations like these, the more plaintiff-friendly product liability standard we discussed earlier (known as "strict liability") may apply, and your case will be easier to make.

Learn more about proving fault in a personal injury case.

Is It Worth It to Sue Over Food Poisoning?

No one likes getting sick, especially from food poisoning. It’s uncomfortable and disruptive in the rosiest of scenarios. Let’s assume you’re confident you can prove that a restaurant caused your food poisoning. If the only result is a dozen trips to the bathroom and a few days of feeling under the weather, it might not be worth it (time-wise and money-wise) to pursue a legal claim. Your losses might not add up to all that much.

Obviously, it’s a different story if your bout of food poisoning involves hospitalization, medical treatment, and/or a particularly dangerous microbe like E. coli or salmonella. And food poisoning cases that affect younger or older persons are often riskier from a health perspective, so that’s another factor to keep in mind. In situations where medical bills add up and food poisoning causes more than a few days of discomfort, it might be worth it to contact a personal injury attorney and discuss your options.