Taking the Hassle Out Of a Minnesota Foodborne Illness Claim

Salmonella and E.coli infections that spread through the food supply cause severe discomfort to those who contract them. Your hospital stay is required for medical treatment due to a bacterial infection. All customers expect a safe dining experience at restaurants, brewery taprooms, and grocery stores yet food poisoning still occurs unexpectedly after making purchases. 

Foodborne illness cases do happen while giving you an opportunity to file official claims. This usually means proving negligence in a Minnesota foodborne illness claim, and it’s tough without help from an injury attorney. It is essential to comprehend how hiring legal help improves cases where food causes sickness. 

What Are Product Liability Laws?

Foodborne illnesses stemming from Salmonella infections alongside other types of infections fall under the jurisdiction of the civil law system. The courtroom where your case is processed operates under civil law. Success in your claim will make the defendant responsible for paying for your suffered damages. A defendant convicted of wrongdoing avoids receiving criminal consequences even after the court determines their guilt. Judicial penalties must proceed from criminal courts through fines and imprisonment.

Therefore, what are product liability laws? Rules designed for manufacturers alongside distributors and retailers fall under this category. All public products must meet specified safety regulations as part of legal requirements. Personal and known dangers within products must be accompanied by visible warning labels according to product liability regulations.

In a nutshell, product liability laws work to protect consumers from products that can cause them harm. These laws also grant consumers the legal right to pursue compensation if a product causes injury.

How Legal Representation Can Help A Foodborne Illness Claim

Simply being diagnosed with food poisoning isn’t enough to file a claim. After all, you could’ve come in contact with the bacteria in your kitchen. You also need to figure out which regulatory agency is responsible for overseeing your case. This can include both state and federal agencies.

For example, if you contracted the illness from meat, poultry, or dairy products, the USDA is the overseeing federal agency. If the bacterial infection is caused by other tainted foods, the FDA is the entity you should contact.

Don’t forget about state and local agencies. State and local agencies typically oversee food sold in restaurants and manufactured in the state. Adding to the possible confusion is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC tracks all foodborne illnesses and often steps in to investigate the bacteria’s origins.

As you can see, simply reporting a Salmonella infection can be a complicated process but an attorney can help you determine which agency to contact.

Collect Evidence

The various government agencies will take care of a lot of the investigation. The CDC usually takes of tracking where the contaminated food originated and the state health department handles the investigation closer to home.

While these agencies will provide you with some information, more may be needed to support your Salmonella claim. An attorney helps identify the causes of foodborne illness and contributing factors.

Determine and Calculate Your Damages

The medical costs you experienced because of your foodborne illness make up your main damages for a liability claim. Hospitalization costs along with associated expenses become costly when an infection develops into a severe condition. Each year the CDC reports 26,500 cases of persons who need hospitalization due to foodborne illnesses that include Salmonella poisoning.

Symptoms of infection that lead to job absence will also be part of the injury claim. Individuals affected by a foodborne illness can obtain compensation for earnings they have already lost and those they will lose in the present.

Your ability to calculate economic damages on your own does not require legal representation yet you will need professional help with non-economic damages. Non-economic damages which include mental anguish and experiencing pain as well as suffering compose intangible losses. Trying to get an insurance adjuster to accept your claim by simply writing down damage amounts will not be successful. The process of determining your non-economic damage compensation requires proper calculation.

An attorney chooses between applying the per diem or multiplier process to determine the non-economic damages amount. Food poisoning symptoms lasting multiple days require you to multiply your economic damage amount through the per diem method. The combination of $100,000 medical expenditure and two days of symptom duration leads to a non-economic damage amount of $200,000.

The total of your economic damages is multiplied by the number you assigned your pain. So, if your economic damages are $100,000 and you gave your pain a 2 rating, your non-economic damages are $200,000.

If you’re wondering about punitive damages, your food poisoning case may be eligible. However, only a judge or jury can award a plaintiff punitive damages. You can’t include these types of damages in your foodborne illness claim. Most states also have caps on punitive damages and your attorney can explain how this may impact your compensation.

Handle Negotiations with the Insurance Company

Insurance companies don’t like paying out claims and will use plenty of tactics to try and get you to accept a lower settlement amount. Part of the claim process is going through negotiations with the insurance adjuster. If negotiations fall through, then your attorney can file a lawsuit in civil court.

Going through negotiations without legal representation is usually a mistake. Insurance adjusters are familiar with the process and can make accepting a lower settlement amount initially seem like your best option. However, if you decide to accept the insurance adjuster’s offer, your claim is considered closed. This applies even if your expenses continue adding up.

Your attorney can handle the negotiations and help ensure you receive a settlement that covers your current and future damages.

Navigate Your Foodborne Illness Claim With Help From A Minnesota Injury Attorney

Even trying to figure out which government agency to report your Salmonella infection to can be complicated and the process can get even more confusing. To help ensure your foodborne illness claim moves along smoothly, it always pays to have legal representation. Your injury attorney can also help ensure you receive fair compensation for your damages.