The Complexity of Food-Related Injuries

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Updated May 25, 2019 | Products Liability | Social Share

Meals are meant to be enjoyed, and food is supposed to nourish your body. Unfortunately, that is not always the case—sometimes, the things you eat make you sick.

Injuries or illnesses caused by the ingestion of contaminated food are among the most medically intense types of personal injury cases.

Proving Causation Is Difficult

Showing causation is complicated because food-related illnesses typically take a few days to occur. To prove that the food caused the illness, it requires a careful retracing of the individual’s food intake in the days prior to the illness as well as complex blood and stool tests. Attorneys may also seek common links to other similar cases.

Although patient history, blood tests, and stool sampling play a critical part in proving the existence of salmonella or other harmful bacteria, determining the source is often augmented by a local Health Department. Health Department investigations of potential food illness outbreaks are often the key to establishing an injury claim. Health Departments are able to survey multiple parties allegedly affected by a single source of contamination and work to pinpoint the cause of the illnesses. Obtaining this investigation and the testimony of health department investigators is often crucial to a making a successful injury claim against the entity that sold the contaminated food.

Illness Does Not Guarantee a Case

It is important to understand, however, that just because an individual becomes ill as a result of eating potentially contaminated food does not necessarily mean they have a good case to pursue. To warrant the time and expense needed to bring an injury claim, the individual must have suffered significant damages or incurred a permanent injury.

Because of all this, an individual seeking compensation for a food-related injury should work with an attorney not just familiar with these type of cases but one who also has access to the necessary medical expertise to develop a successful injury claim.

Contact a Products Liability Attorney Today

If you or a loved one have become ill due to contaminated food or another defective product, you are urged to contact the Indianapolis Products Liability Attorneys of Wilson Kehoe Winingham. The lawyers at WKW can help you get the compensation you deserve. Call 317.920.6400 or fill out an online contact form for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.