Foreign objects in food
When we buy food we rightly expect that when we take a bite we will only experience the advertised product.
But sometimes people are physically injured as a result of foreign objects in food like:
- breaking a tooth on a piece of metal inside a supermarket sandwich
- cutting your finger on plastic inside in a food packet
- becoming ill after eating an animal/insect inside a food product
The law says that a person is only entitled to compensation if they are physically hurt like breaking a tooth or cutting a lip.
You cannot get compensation just because you were shocked or disgusted. You know what we mean - the social media images of strange looking shapes in fast food products or a wriggling creature inside a bag of salad.
However if you have a physical injury AND experienced mental trauma (like being so terrified of eating anything again that you needed CBT sessions) then the psychological claim could be ‘added on’ to your injury claim.
What to do if you find a foreign object in your food
- Don’t take the food back – keep the food, the packaging and the receipt. If you give it back then you lose vital needed to help prove your case.
- Don’t throw away the foreign object – this will be an important piece of evidence and having it available will help trace the source of the contamination
- Take photos – document your injury, and the offending foreign object, as quickly and thoroughly as you can.
- Seek medical attention – a huge chunk of evidence for any claim is your medical records. If you don’t get medical help then there’s no way to show the connection between your injury and the incident as GPs also note down how your injury happened. No medical help often means there can be no legal help.
- Make a complaint – record the problem as quickly as you can and wait for a response.
- Don’t accept ‘apology vouchers’ – if you accept any kind of freebie or voucher as part of an apology then, technically, you have been compensated and can’t make a legal claim.
Compensation claims involving foreign objects in food fall under product liability laws so this means you need the advice of a reputable product liability lawyer who has the experience, resources and reputation needed to overcome challenges and secure you fair damages.
Another key aspect of reliable legal support would be in ensuring they can take on your case in a way that is risk free to you – at Digby Brown we do this via our no win, no fee Compensate funding model.
No win, no fee personal injury solicitors
The expression “No win, no fee” is often used in personal injury cases. It is used as a way of funding a compensation claim where the accident victim does not have the means to pay for the costs involved as the case progresses.
A number of solicitors are prepared to handle personal injury cases on a “No Win – No Fee” basis but very few are able to offer their clients complete protection if the case is unsuccessful.
In that event, the client could end up being liable for many thousands of pounds in legal expenses or the case won't be fully investigated and therefore likely to under-settle.
Compensate 'no win, no fee' funding
Digby Brown has its own funding company, Compensate, which provides the funding to allow the case to be fully investigated, employ the best experts surrounding the circumstances of the accident and/or injuries sustained and where and if necessary go to court.
If for whatever reason the case is unsuccessful, Compensate pays all your legal expenses and those of your opponent – you pay nothing.
On average our clients receive over 3 times the pre-litigation offer
Because of Compensate funding Digby Brown's success rate is extremely high and on average our clients receive three times the pre-litigation offer.
In the event the case is successful, a small percentage of your damages will be deducted with VAT to pay for this service. The percentage which Compensate will charge depends on the degree of risk involved. We believe that this is the fairest method of giving clients access to justice whilst ensuring their cases are fully investigated, prepared and funded.
Don’t take our word for it, just read many of the court decisions and case studies on our website.
Beware of compensation offers which may be too good
We know you will have seen many adverts offering 100% compensation or telling you that you will not lose any of your compensation, however we believe there are a number of problems with companies that do this.
- How do they make their money if they don’t charge you anything?
- If they aren’t taking any money from you, the client, what incentive do they have to ensure you receive the right level of compensation, appropriate to the injuries you have sustained?
- Fully preparing a case, finding out exactly what happened and what the consequences of your injuries may mean in the long term, is expensive, how do they do this properly?
- If they aren’t fully preparing these cases will they just accept the first offer they are given on your behalf by the Insurance company?
- It makes simple business sense, the less work they do the higher their profit margin is - they simply have no incentive to work harder on your behalf.
- These adverts in the main are from English firms on national television which operates in a different way and therefore wouldn’t apply to a Scottish person.
We know from the many client cases we mandate from other firms of solicitors (in the main at the request of the client who is extremely unsatisfied with the service received for the other firm) that many shortcuts are taken in preparation and that the first offer received is being recommended for acceptance, regardless of the value.
Getting something for nothing is usually the first sign of poor service.
Correct level of compensation with Digby Brown
Our experience and statistics show time and time again we will achieve the correct level of compensation which will be substantially more than the insurer is initially prepared to offer.
Even after we have deducted our percentage as a success fee you will gain considerably more than you would have achieved using a 100% compensation model.
Contact Digby Brown's personal injury solicitors
We have offices across Scotland in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen and Ayr.
For further information about no win, no fee, or anything else, call us on 0333 200 5925 or fill in our enquiry form below and someone will get back in touch with you.
FAQs
What if I was hurt by a food that contained bones?
It really depends on the kind of food involved. For example a chicken nugget is so heavily processed it would be reasonable to assume there would be no bones inside – therefore if you bite into one and injure yourself there would be a legitimate reason to seek legal advice.
But other types of food – like fish – are more challenging because realistically, they are riddled with lots of tiny bones and not all of them can always be removed. This is why there are lots of food packaging that have labels warning of bones which may be present.
What is the difference between food contamination and foreign objects in food?
Foreign objects in food specifically refer to physical items that should not be there like pieces of metal or plastic. Food contamination is usually when harmful agents (such as harmful pathogens like E. coli or Salmonella) are present in the food.
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