If you consume food provided by a restaurant or other food retailer, The Supply of Goods and Services Act states that your food should have been produced with reasonable skill and care, be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.  

When you buy food from such establishments you trust that what you have been given is safe to eat. If the restaurant or other food retailer has been negligent and caused you to be ill as a result of their negligence, you may be able to persue a claim for compensation.

There are some initial steps you could take if you suspect you have suffered food poisoning:

• Visit your GP straightaway. Your GP may then take some blood to confirm what infection you have. A confirmed diagnosis will assist should you decide to pursue a claim for compensation;

• You should report the food poisoning to the establishment concerned;

• If you think you’ve been given food poisoning, you can also alert your local environmental health department, who will investigate whether the establishment has breached the Food Safety act of 1990. The Environmental Health Department should then visit the food retailer and prepare a report. As well as hopefully preventing further occurrences, these reports can be helpful as evidence in this type of case and  assist in proving negligence or breach of statutory duty.

If you intend claiming compensation for personal injury arising out of food poisoning we recommend you speak with a solicitor that specialises in this area as quickly as possible as it's important to get the right evidence and take appropriate steps at various stages of the claim. At TMJ Legal Services we have years of experience of dealing with these type of claims.