Eating is a favorite pastime for many Oklahomans. We all have a favorite restaurant chain to visit on special occasions or just because we need to get together with family.
Occasionally, however, dangerous microbes are lurking in our favorite dishes, especially when restaurant and food service workers fail to follow rules and regulations in order to handle and prepare the food properly.
However, it is not always easy or feasible to file a food poisoning lawsuit in Oklahoma. To learn more about your rights, speak to a Tulsa personal injury attorney right away.
Filing a Food Poisoning Lawsuit in Oklahoma
Some examples of dangerous microbes/viruses that can cause food poisoning are E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis, botulism, norovirus, listeria, and Shigella.
Food poisoning is a horrific experience. Sometimes, the illness can last for days, resulting in expensive medical bills and missed wages, not to mention the pain, suffering, and mental anguish involved.
Despite the horrendous pain and expense caused by food poisoning, it is not the easiest personal injury claim to bring against a restaurant. First, you must show that the illness you suffered was actually food poisoning and not some form of gastrointestinal virus. Emergency room discharge papers are the best proof that the injuries you suffered were actually food poisoning.
Next, you must establish that that time that passed between your meal at the restaurant and your food poisoning symptoms was short enough that there was not another culprit for which the restaurant can blame the food poisoning. For instance, did you stop to have ice cream after your meal at the restaurant? Perhaps the ice cream was the source of your illness.
The defendant in your claim – the restaurant – will try to argue that the defendant was not the proximate cause of your injuries because another food service provider could have possibly caused them.
Additional Considerations
In Tulsa, there are three possible theories under which you file a food poisoning lawsuit in Oklahoma against a restaurant.
First, you could sue for negligence in the restaurant’s storing and preparation of the food. You would have to show that the restaurant’s workers breached their duty to comply with Oklahoma Health Department’s rules and regulations and the standards used by reasonable food service workers in the restaurant business. Then, you would have to show that the breach proximately caused your injuries.
A second possible theory under which you could file a food poisoning lawsuit in Oklahoma would be strict liability. Oklahoma has a Model Food Code; Tulsa also has a local Model Food Code. These regulations outline very specific food handling procedures that must be used by local eating establishments in order to safeguard public health. Those who violate the code are found strictly liable for putting defective food into the hands of the public.
A third possible theory under which one could file a food poisoning lawsuit in Oklahoma would be a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability. This is a contractual claim. In Oklahoma, sellers of commercial items automatically make a warranty that items for sale will work for a reasonably expected purpose, whether or not that warranty is stated orally or in writing in the contract of sale. Here, you, the customer, upon purchasing the meal, reasonably expected that your meal would not make you ill.
If the meal gave you food poisoning, you could argue that the seller violated the implied warranty of merchantability. Therefore, the seller must now uphold his end of the contract by making you whole again – in this case, by compensating you for your injury.
In order to prepare for your visit to a Tulsa personal injury attorney to discuss your possible food poisoning claim, gather together any evidence in your possession, such as your receipt from the restaurant, the names and contact information of any witnesses, the names and contact information of any other customers that ate at the same restaurant and contracted food poisoning, medical bills and records, and any samples of the food that you took home.
Free Consultation: Oklahoma Personal Injury Attorney
To find out if you might be entitled to compensation through filing a food poisoning lawsuit in Oklahoma, contact an attorney at the Personal Injury Law Office of Tulsa today.
For a free, no-obligation consultation, call (918) 924-5528 or send your question using the email form on this page.
