The Senators (Ret.) Firm LLP has been actively involved in litigation arising from illnesses and diseases caused by tainted produce and other processed and unprocessed foods. While many cases of food poisoning are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year roughly 1 out of 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from food borne diseases. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, those who have an illness already that reduces their immune system function, and in healthy people exposed to a very high dose of an organism.
An outbreak of food borne illness occurs when a group of people consume the same contaminated food and two or more of them come down with the same illness. It may be a group that ate a meal together somewhere, or it may be a group of people who do not know each other at all, but who all happened to buy and eat the same contaminated item from a grocery store or restaurant. For an outbreak to occur, something must have happened to contaminate a batch of food that was eaten by a group of people. Often, a combination of events contributes to the outbreak. A contaminated food may be left out a room temperature for many hours, allowing the bacteria to multiply to high numbers, and then be insufficiently cooked to kill the bacteria.
Many outbreaks are local in nature. They are recognized when a group of people realize that they all became ill after a common meal, and someone calls the local health department. This classic local outbreak might follow a catered meal at a reception, a pot-luck supper, or eating a meal at an understaffed restaurant on a particularly busy day. However, outbreaks are increasingly being recognized that are more widespread, that affect persons in many different places, and that are spread out over several weeks.
Most cases of food borne illness are not part of recognized outbreaks, but occur as individual or “sporadic” cases. It may be that many of these cases are actually part of unrecognized widespread or diffuse outbreaks. Detecting and investigating such widespread outbreaks is a major challenge to our public health system.
Do I have a Food Poisoning Lawsuit?
The trial lawyers at The Senators (Ret.) Firm, LLP have decades of experience litigating and resolving lawsuits and claims all over the United States involving injuries caused by exposure to a variety of environmental and man-made pathogens. If you or someone close to you has suffered injuries that may be related to food poisoning we are here to help ensure that your rights are fully protected.
If you or someone close to you has been diagnosed with an illness linked to a food poisoning outbreak or recall, you should contact our lawyers immediately by clicking the link below or calling toll free 1-(949) 557-5800. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and we can help.