Food poisoning compensation and claims

If you’ve eaten something that you suspect might have given you food poisoning what do you do? 

There are many food, hygiene and safety standards that food establishments are obligated to meet so that food is safe for consumption. However, these standards aren’t always followed and for many people, a trip to the restaurant can result in a trip to the doctor – maybe even A&E or worse.

If you have found yourself in that unfortunate situation, you may wish to talk to someone to find out whether you may be able to claim compensation.

What is food poisoning? 

Food poisoning is the result of a person eating contaminated food. These contaminations can emerge if safety guidelines are not followed such as:

• not cooking food thoroughly
• not storing food correctly
• leaving cooked food sitting too long at warm temperatures
• serving chilled food at higher than optimal temperatures
• not properly reheating previously cooked food
• someone touching food when they are ill or have dirty hands
• cross-contamination such as using one chopping board for multiple foods

As a lot of issues around contamination relate to the cooking or storage of foods it is common for poisoning cases to involve meat, dairy or seafood.

What types of food poisoning is there? 

Food poisoning happens when foods become contaminated and food is deemed to be contaminated if it contains a pathogen. A pathogen is a biological organism like a virus, bacteria, worm or fungus that causes diseases.

Common diseases that are associated with food poisoning include:

Salmonella – this is a common bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. Salmonella bacteria live in animal and human intestines and are shed through faeces. Life-threatening complications also may develop if the infection spreads beyond your intestines.

Escherichia coli (E.coli) – bacteria found in the digestive systems of many animals, including humans. Most strains are harmless but some can cause serious illness. Most cases of E. coli poisoning occur after eating undercooked beef or drinking unpasteurised milk.

Campylobacter – this infection happens when people eat raw or undercooked poultry, or even simply eat something that touched it (this is an example of when cross-contamination from chopping boards can play a part). People can also get it from other food sources such as seafood or dirty drinking water. 

Norovirus – the virus that most commonly causes diarrhoea and vomiting. It's easily spread from person to person through contaminated food or water. Raw shellfish, particularly oysters, can also be a source of infection.

Listeria – found in a range of chilled "ready-to-eat" foods including pre-packed sandwiches, cooked sliced meats, pâté and soft cheeses (such as Brie or Camembert) should be eaten before their "use-by" dates. Pregnant women are especially at risk as listeria can cause birth complications or even miscarriage.

How long after eating something would it take before you became ill? 

Symptoms of any kind of food poisoning usually begin within one day of eating contaminated food. However, some people may find it takes longer before they present signs of poisoning. This is known as the “incubation period”, which is common as conditions manifest themselves differently in individuals.

But when poisoning does take hold, commonly reported symptoms include:

• Sickness
• Diarrhoea
• Stomach cramps
• A lack of energy/weakness
• Fever

However, you were poisoned and however, it manifests itself it is important to speak to your Doctor for medical assistance.

Speaking to your GP is important for more than just your immediate welfare. They can run tests which can identify the pathogens linked to your illness, which can help us prove that your illness resulted from a specific food which was contaminated.

Investigating food poisoning claims 

There is little difference between food poisoning from a restaurant and poisoning from a shop, such as pre-packed sandwiches at a supermarket.

Consumer Protection Act 1987 covers consumers regardless of where the food was purchased from. It offers a strong legal foothold to build a case as it makes clear that if the source of the poisoning, infection or allergic reaction can be directly linked to a certain product then a 'strict liability' rule applies. This means the food producer can be held accountable for your injury and subsequent losses.

In the case of food poisoning arising from food bought in a restaurant, takeaway or café, we may not need to hold a manufacturer to account as we can hold the seller liable under contract in terms of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

How do our solicitors investigate a food poisoning case? 

When you come to Digby Brown for help with your food poisoning claim there are several key steps to each case:

Your statement – we take details of what you ate, where you ate and how the poisoning affected you.

Access reports – we gather inspection and hygiene reports from the local authority or other required bodies as we investigate the circumstances surrounding what happened. We may also liaise with Food Standards Scotland or Health Protection Scotland who often carry out wider investigations that could support your case.

Medical records – with your permission we access these records which will help confirm that the poisoning occurred – and that a food borne pathogen was present. It will also provide details of dates, symptoms and any other relevant information that may be helpful.

Skilled Reports – We ask expert microbiologists to analyse the circumstances, dates, medical records, food type and pathogen. This helps us to prove the case and succeed in obtaining damages from the seller or producer of the food. 

Intimate the claim – we write to the seller of the food and inform them, in legal terms, why we hold them liable and what we want them to do to make things right. Usually, we seek a significant financial settlement in line with the level of suffering the victim of the poisoning has endured.

Food analysis – the need to analyse food is rare but if there is a need, then we have the resources and access to experts to do this.

Liaise with the insurer – we engage with the other side to negotiate the settlement of your case.
Food poisoning claims are a very specialist case type that falls under product liability law – which in turn is a specialist area of personal injury work. This is why you need an independent legal team which has the resources, expertise and reputation to get you rightful damages.

Digby Brown helps victims of food poisoning 

We have an established track record of claiming compensation on behalf of clients affected by food poisoning.

In 2018 we lodged multiple legal actions against supermarkets following a listeria outbreak across the Central Belt of Scotland. The listeria outbreak resulted in stores like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Iceland, Lidl and Aldi recalling items like frozen corn, peas and spinach from their shelves after a series of deaths across Europe sparked a warning from official food standards groups.

In 2016 an outbreak of E.coli 0157 sadly resulted in one death and 17 people being hospitalised. After an investigation from Health Protection Scotland (HPS) there was thought to be a link between the cases and a batch of unpasteurised blue cheese. Mark Gibson, Head of Product Liability, helped these victims with their legal actions against the makers of the cheese.

In 2014 a number of people who visited The Hydro in Glasgow also fell ill following E.coli poisoning – an outbreak that was later linked to undercooked beef burgers. We helped victims affected by this outbreak recover fair compensation. 

Speak to our specialist food poisoning lawyers

If you’ve eaten something that you suspect might have given you food poisoning, find out how our specialist legal team could help by calling 0333 200 5925 or filling in our brief enquiry form at the top of this page.