Each year, approximately 50 million Americans suffer from food poisoning caused by eating unsafe, spoiled, tainted, contaminated or improperly cooked food. If you are reading this while recovering from food poisoning in the hospital, our Pittsburgh food poisoning attorney from Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman has good news for you – you may be able to seek compensation for the medical bills associated with your treatment, loss of income from missing days or weeks of work, pain, and suffering, as well as other damages.
While the symptoms of food poisoning are very similar to those of stomach flu (abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever), it is highly advised to seek medical attention to confirm that you have consumed spoiled, tainted, contaminated or improperly cooked food or water as well as to document your injury or illness.
WHO CAN BE SUED FOR FOOD POISONING?
You can suffer from food poisoning after consuming any type of food, though meat, poultry, and fish are considered to be the high-risk foods that are more likely to become contaminated. Our experienced food poisoning attorney in Pittsburgh explains that you may be able to sue multiple parties to recover damages. These parties include:
- Food company or manufacturer
- Distributor
- Corporate farmer
- Raw meat processor
- Restaurant (bar, nightclub, or any other establishment that served you the contaminated food)
- Fast food franchise
- Bakery
- Grocery store and
- Party host
Basically, you can pursue a product liability claim against any individual or entity that manufactured, produced, cooked, distributed, or sold food that was unsafe, contaminated, spoiled, improperly cooked, or subject to a recall.
TYPES OF FOOD POISONING
Some of you might wonder, “How does food become contaminated?” In reality, it does not take much to consume food or water that is contaminated, as improper food handling, storing or cooking can cause contamination. Also, food can become contaminated with certain bacteria, viruses, toxins, or parasites when being processed.
Some of the most common types of food poisoning include but are not limited to:
- Botulism
- Campylobacter
- Hemorrhagic Colitis (E. coli)
- Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
- Hepatitis A
- Listeria (Listeriosis)
- Norovirus
- Salmonella (Salmonellosis)
- Guillain -Barre Syndrome
- Shigellosis
- Clostridium Perfringens Poisoning
- Toxoplasmosis and
- Other foodborne and waterborne diseases
HOW MUCH IS YOUR FOOD POISONING CASE WORTH?
The value of monetary compensation that you may be entitled to depend on a variety of factors. One of the biggest factors is the severity of your food poisoning. Our Pittsburgh food poisoning lawyer explains that in the vast majority of cases, people suffer from mild cases of food poisoning. Most people recover from mild food poisoning within a few days.
The more severe your case of food poisoning, the larger the settlement you should receive from the individual or entity that cooked, sold, distributed, manufactured, or produced the contaminated, spoiled, or otherwise unsafe food or water.
Your compensation for food poisoning can total thousands of dollars if you suffered a more serious case of food poisoning, which is associated with such symptoms as severe diarrhea, a fever reaching over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, difficulty breathing, speaking, and swallowing, dehydration, overall weakness, and many more.
If you want to protect your legal rights as a consumer and get the maximum compensation for your injury or illness, you will have to speak to a skilled food poisoning lawyer in Pittsburgh or elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Get a free consultation about your particular case by contacting Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman. Call at (412) 391-7610.
