It's nice to leave the kitchen chores behind and grab a meal out at a restaurant. After all, you can relax and focus on your friends and family rather than cooking and cleaning. You just naturally put your trust in the eating establishment when it comes to serving safe food, but sometimes the food you consume makes you ill. When a trip out to a restaurant turns into a need for medical care, you are entitled to seek damages. Read on to learn more.
A tiny but harmful bug
Salmonella is a fairly common microbe but when food is contaminated, you will be paying the price. This form of food poisoning is not confined to food, even water infected with salmonella can make you sick. Once consumed, this pathogen begins to work on your digestive track. It could take anywhere from 12-72 hours for you to begin noticing the signs and the illness can last for several days.
What to watch for
The symptoms can vary depending on your age, health and how much bad food you consumed, but you can expect the following to begin affecting you sooner or later:
- Diarrhea
- Chills
- Nausea
- Fever
- Vomiting
- Stomach pains and cramps
- Body aches
- In some cases, the vomiting and diarrhea can cause victims to become dehydrated, which can lead to serious complications
Seek medical care
While you may not believe this illness to be serious, you should be particularly watchful if it affects a very young or older person. They are far more likely to become seriously ill and get dehydrated. Often this illness causes enough trouble that you are propelled into taking legal action. Doing so can mean compensation but you must show proof of your illness and that means seeking medical care and keeping your records and receipts. If there is a question about what is causing your illness, a lab test can confirm or rule out salmonella.
Take action to preserve evidence and warn others
1. Once you have definitive proof of a salmonella or other food-borne illness, contact your local county health department to make a report. If it affected you, it probably affected others and your report could cause an investigation into the cause of the issue at the restaurant.
2. Save any takeout wrappers or containers by placing them in sealed plastic bags for the investigator.
3. Save your receipts, tickets or other proof of dining at the restaurant.
4. Contact others in your party and let them know about your illness.
5. Make an appointment with a personal injury lawyer who can evaluate your case and advise you on how to move forward with a claim for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
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