Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Yes, you can sue if you get Salmonella food poisoning. If the food, product or animal that gave you Salmonella can be identified, you can sue the store, restaurant, or supplier where you bought it. If a food manufacturer was at fault, you can also sue the manufacturer who contaminated the food with Salmonella. A Salmonella lawyer can help you file a claim for compensation or a Salmonella lawsuit. Contact our experienced legal team at The Lange Law Firm for a free legal consultation today.
Salmonella is a bacterium. Salmonella causes a foodborne illness called Salmonellosis. Most of the time, Salmonella lives in the intestines of animals, and does not make them sick. A chicken or a turkey infected with Salmonella will often not show any signs of illness. However, when ingested by humans, Salmonella can make us very sick.
A Salmonella lawsuit is a way for victims of Salmonella food poisoning to be compensated for their medical bills, time lost from work, and the ordeal they went through. In very severe cases, where there are long term health consequences like reactive arthritis, a Salmonella lawsuit may be a way to recover compensation for future medical bills as well.
Give us a call! We offer free, no obligation legal consultations. If you became sick after eating or drinking a contaminated food item, you may qualify for a Salmonella claim for compensation.
To ensure that your rights are protected, it is always safest to get legal advice from a lawyer. There may be crucial deadlines related to your case. So contacting a lawyer right away helps.
Your Salmonella case is important. But, remember, your health is what is most important. If you are experiencing food poisoning symptoms, seek medical attention first. Early medical treatment can help prevent or reduce the long-term health consequences of Salmonella food poisoning. When you see your doctor, be sure to ask for a stool test to determine if your illness is caused by Salmonella (or some other foodborne pathogen). A stool test can also help determine what food caused your Salmonella (call us and we can explain).
There are a few things we will need to pursue a Salmonella lawsuit for you. A copy of your receipt, for example, is good evidence for us to have for your case. If you were hospitalized, a copy of your discharge documents from your doctor is always helpful. But every case is different. So, the best way to determine what we may need for you is to give us a call.
Salmonella food poisoning and Salmonella lawsuits are product liability claims. Legally, restaurants and many food companies are considered to be food manufacturers. When a manufacturer sells a defective product (selling food contaminated with Salmonella, for example), they may be strictly liable for any harm that their defective product causes. If a store or restaurant sold you food that was contaminated with Salmonella, then the store or restaurant may be strictly liable for the harm their defective product caused you. If the food manufacturer was at fault, then the manufacturer may also be subject to strict product liability.
In a Salmonella lawsuit, you may be able to sue the store or restaurant where you bought the food. If the company that manufactured the food was at fault, you may also be able to sue the food manufacturer. In some cases, you can sue the multiple different companies in the chain of distribution, such as the supplier, distributer, packager, etc.
There are several different types of damages that can be recovered in a salmonella lawsuit:
Economic damages are the most common type of compensation awarded, and are available in all successful salmonella claims. They are meant to compensate for verifiable monetary losses. Those can include:
If you have suffered any of these economic damages, or any other calculable losses, you have the right to recover their value in full. States do not have caps on actual losses.
Non-economic damages are subjective, non monetary losses. Their value is much more difficult to calculate, as they are based on the individual’s extent of loss. That means it will vary on a case-by-case basis. Some examples of non-economic damages that may be secured in a salmonella lawsuit include:
Punitive damages are only available in some states, but are awarded to victims when the offending party’s behavior was egregious or intentional. The purpose of this compensation is not necessarily to add to the injured party’s award, but primarily as punishment for the defendant and as a way to deter others from similar misconduct.
How much a salmonella food poisoning claim is worth varies on the facts specific to each case, but can be answered when consulting with a skilled food safety lawyer. Determining your claim’s worth will hinge on the following set of factors:
An attorney will then assess these facts and details of your case to give you an estimated value.
Usually through contaminated food and water, which can become tainted by:
Salmonella is very common. Salmonella is one of the most common type of food poisoning, after Norovirus and Campylobacter. Each year, an estimated 1.2 million Americans will be infected with Salmonella illness. Sadly, 23,000 of these people will be hospitalized. 450 of these people will die. Unfortunately, Salmonella is much more common than most people realize.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection usually show between 6 hours and 3 days after ingesting food or water contaminated with Salmonella.
When a Salmonella outbreak occurs, it is typically three to four weeks until public health officials can report on and accurately tie the illness to a source. This time frame is known as a lag window or reporting lag. During this window, public health officials take a series of steps to identify the source of the outbreak and link illness to it.
You may be asking what caused the Salmonella outbreak? There have been many Salmonella outbreaks recently. Here are some of the latest Salmonella outbreaks in just the last couple of linked to food products, include:
As of July 24, 2020, there is a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections linked to onion products.
Yes. According to the latest news from the FDA:
“FDA’s traceback investigation is ongoing but has identified Thomson International, Inc. of Bakersfield, CA as a likely source of potentially contaminated red onions.
On August 1, 2020, Thomson International, Inc. recalled all varieties of onions that could have come in contact with potentially contaminated red onions, due to the risk of cross-contamination. Recalled products include red, yellow, white, and sweet yellow onions shipped from May 1, 2020 to present.
Onions were distributed to wholesalers, restaurants, and retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada.”
Sadly, yes. You can get Salmonella from onions in several ways. Sometimes, Salmonella can be present on the outside skin or rind. This can contaminate the inside of the vegetable if the onion had not been washed before cutting. In precut onions, unless they are cooked, and the onion is contaminated, you can become sick with Salmonella from eating the tainted onion.
Have you or a loved one suffered from Salmonella poisoning? Thinking about pursuing a Salmonella lawsuit? If so, our experienced food safety lawyer can help.