Food poisoning is a miserable experience. Many cases of food poisoning are minor and go away after a day or two. However, it is possible to become seriously — even life-threateningly — ill by ingesting contaminated food or drink. In some circumstances, you can hold the restaurant, grocery store, or food distributor accountable. Our personal injury attorneys may be able to help you get compensation if you have suffered from food poisoning.
Victims of food poisoning in Colorado can bring legal action against any seller, server, or supplier found responsible for causing serious illness.
You can bring legal action for food poisoning against any party that serves, sells, or supplies food. This can include:
Statistics gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that approximately 48 million people suffer from food poisoning each year in the United States. Most cases are mild and clear up within 48 hours, however, foodborne illnesses can become serious, causing organ damage, coma, and even death for high-risk individuals.
The CDC says that, on average, foodborne illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths a year.
Ingesting food or beverages that are contaminated with certain viruses, bacteria, parasites, or toxins causes food poisoning. It occurs when food is improperly handled during the manufacturing process or is not prepared or stored at proper temperatures. Food can also be contaminated by cooks and servers who may be ill.
Food poisoning can lead to serious illness and hospitalization, which can result in massive medical bills and lost wages from missing work. The 10 most common food poisoning offenders are listed and described at the bottom of this legal guide.
While most incidents of food poisoning are mild enough to come and go within a day or two, it’s important to monitor for indications of a more serious illness such as:
If you or someone close to you is experiencing one or more of these symptoms and suspects food poisoning, see a doctor.
A physician must put together a detailed medical and personal history which includes the length and symptoms of the illness and the foods consumed. The patient must also undergo a comprehensive medical examination to check for any indicators associated with food poisoning. The doctor could order diagnostic testing, which can require a stool culture or blood test.
Such tests not only help establish a personal injury case but they allow the doctor to notify the local health department to look for a food poisoning outbreak within your community.
You must demonstrate two key facts in any legal action you bring against a food server, seller, or provider:
It is easier to bring legal action if a government agency like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has linked a particular food you consumed to a known outbreak, in which case you could join a class-action lawsuit. Proving an isolated incident of food poisoning that resulted in serious illness can be considerably more difficult.
To make such a case, however, a personal injury attorney can present:
You can sue a restaurant for causing a foodborne illness by showing the food it served made you sick. Like any personal injury lawsuit, the case must be based on Colorado negligence laws.
You must be able to show:
You can hold restaurants accountable for their employee’s actions under the respondeat superior provision in Colorado Revised Statute 13-21-111.5
Respondeat superior is a Latin legal term meaning a person shall be held responsible for the acts of his or her agents or employees. For example, the restaurant can be held liable if a waiter or cook handled food without washing their hands regularly and it caused food poisoning.
Food service companies provide ingredients and food to restaurants, hospitals, schools, and government institutions such as jails and prisons. Like the businesses they supply, food service companies must ensure their products are handled and stored in a manner that keeps them fresh and free from contamination.
Most food poisoning cases in Colorado fall under product liability laws. Colorado Revised Statute 13-80-106 allows anyone who has been sold a defective product, such as food that causes serious injury or harm, to seek compensation for damages such as hospital bills and lost wages.
Colorado is a strict liability state when it comes to most cases of food poisoning. Strict liability means the plaintiff (the sick person) does not have to prove negligence on the part of the food distributor. The plaintiff need only provide evidence showing the:
You cannot sue a grocery store or restaurant just because it was found to have served or sold contaminated food or drink. You are entitled to compensation only if you became seriously ill by ingesting the bad food — and can prove it.
However, if the grocery store sold you expired food that caused you to get sick, then you can file a claim against the grocer for any medical bills and damages that resulted. Depending on the circumstances, a grocer can be liable under a negligence standard, a product liability standard, or both.
The date stamped on a food item purchased at a grocery store is not the date the food automatically goes bad. Rather, it is a sell-by date used by grocery clerks and managers to determine when to replace the item with fresher stock.
Getting sick after ingesting food or drink, such as milk, after its “sell-by” date does not automatically establish a case for legal action. You must prove that the food or drink caused your serious illness.
If you file a successful personal injury claim against a restaurant, food truck, grocery store, or food service company, you can be compensated for both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include:
Documentary evidence, such as bills and receipts, help determine the total value of economic damages.
Non-economic damages include:
If you racked up significant medical bills due to a serious food poisoning illness, you may be entitled to compensation. If have questions about whether you have a case against the manufacturer or restaurant that caused your food poisoning, contact the experienced Personal Injury Team at Robinson & Henry. We can help determine if you are eligible for medical bills reimbursement and possibly compensation for other damages. Call 303-688-0944 to begin your free case assessment.