You presume anyone preparing your food practices good hygiene. You know, washing their hands before touching anything that’s going to end up on your plate. When it comes to the food prep area, you also expect it to be clean and sanitized.
After all, these simple steps are effective ways to prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses like salmonella poisoning. However, not everyone always follows these steps, and it can place you at risk. With three multistate Salmonella outbreaks since 2023, Houston residents may be more at risk than they think.
If you’re diagnosed with salmonella poisoning, you may be eligible to file a claim to recover damages. This leads to the question, can you file a claim without retaining legal representation? You can file a personal injury claim without an attorney, but this doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Salmonella cases can be complex, and you don’t want to miss out on potential damages.
Legal Guidance Can Be Crucial In A Salmonella Claim
Salmonella claims, like any other involving a type of food poisoning, can be complex. Not only are you navigating personal injury standards but also local, state, and possibly federal laws.
Sometimes, these laws are not only confusing, but they can also seem contradictory. If you misread a rule, it may not result in an automatic claim denial, but it can drag out the legal process.
Determining Eligibility
Simply coming down with salmonella poisoning isn’t enough to meet the eligibility criteria for filing a personal injury claim. You could’ve contracted the illness in your kitchen. If so, this may mean you don’t have grounds for filing a claim.
However, you may still need to report the illness to your local health department. This allows the authorities to inspect other products that may still be on grocers’ shelves or being served at restaurants. If other products also contain the salmonella bacteria, your kitchen may not be the source of contamination. This may mean you can go ahead and start filing a claim.
Collect Evidence
You also need to show that you were diagnosed with salmonella poisoning. Thankfully, this part of the process is relatively easy. Your medical records are usually enough to prove you contracted a food-borne illness.
However, not all salmonella poisonings are single-person events. Sometimes, multiple people contract salmonella at the same time from a single source. This can complicate your food poisoning claim.
You may need to collect evidence from others infected with salmonella and this isn’t always a piece of cake. This can be especially true if the other affected parties have retained legal counsel. Their attorney may not be willing to share evidence they’re planning on presenting in their claim.
Going Through The Legal Process
If you decide to work with an attorney specializing in salmonella cases, you’re taking steps to help simplify the legal process. However, what can you expect from your lawyer? Here’s a quick look at the legal process for a salmonella poisoning claim.
Proving Negligence or Liability
You can fill out the paperwork and submit a claim without proving negligence or naming a liable party. However, your claim isn’t going to make it very far through the legal process. Chances are, the insurance provider will reject your claim. This means you’re not going to recover compensation for your damages.
Figuring out if you have a negligence or liability claim means determining the source of the infection. The source can be anyone from your local grocer to a restaurant, supplier, distributor, or manufacturer. Once you’ve isolated the source, you can more easily determine if the responsible party’s actions are considered negligent.
Negligence means the at-fault party knowingly or recklessly provided tainted food for consumption. In a liability salmonella claim, you only need to show the food didn’t meet its safety guarantee. This may mean the food is being sold past its expiration date or not being produced following government and industry safety laws.
Showing Fault and Causation
Think of this step as connecting the dots. Yes, it can also be time-consuming and research-intensive. Your goal is to show that the individual or entity responsible for your salmonella poisoning was either reckless or negligent. In other words, you’re directly tying the defendant’s actions to your food-borne illness diagnosis.
To establish fault, you’re going to need evidence beyond your medical records or even the receipt for the purchased food. This is also when your attorney can provide invaluable assistance. You’re probably going to need to gather witness statements. These can be witnesses to your ordering and/or purchasing the food or workers at the manufacturing facility. Expert testimony may also be necessary to support your injury claim.
Once you can show fault, proving causation is relatively easy. This means showing that the reckless or negligent actions of the defendant are the direct cause of your illness.
Listing and Calculating Your Damages
Once you reach this step in the legal process, you’re almost ready to submit your salmonella poisoning claim to the defendant’s insurance provider. Your list of damages may vary from someone else filing a claim for the same reason.
You already know you have medical losses. This represents your healthcare costs resulting directly from your salmonella diagnosis and treatment. If your case of salmonella poisoning was severe enough to cause you to miss work, you should also be able to list your lost wages.
Don’t forget about your non-economic damages. These are things like your pain and suffering. Since you don’t have bills and receipts totaling the amount of your mental anguish, you’ll need to use another method to calculate these damages.
Your attorney can use either the multiplier or per diem method. Each one is accepted by the court and insurance companies. After totaling your damages, your salmonella claim is ready for submission.
Don’t Go Through A Salmonella Claim Alone
Even though you can file a claim for salmonella poisoning without an attorney, it’s still a good idea to have legal representation. Food poisoning cases are often complex, and your attorney can help ensure you receive fair compensation for your damages.