Virginia Food Poisoning Injuries
The Virginia lawyers at our firm are available to speak with you for an immediate review of food poisoning cases. Food poisoning is all too frequent in Virginia, and often results in a serious injury which requires extensive medical care and heavy medical bills. Food poisoning victims typically feel terrible, lack strength, and don't have time or energy to deal with conducting research about their legal rights. Unfortunately, this predicament can lead to victims losing access to important information which may have made all the difference in terms of them being able to win their serious food poisoning injury case. 

Legal Claims
Legal claims have been successively brought by food poisoning victims against restaurants which mishandled food and against large food suppliers for massive poisonings across the nation.  For example, a Virginia woman won $111,765 in a food poisoning trial in 2005. She became severely ill after consuming beef products from a local Golden Corral.  In February of 2007, ConAgra Foods Inc. recalled Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter. A strain of Salmonella was found to be the cause of 425 infected people in 44 different states. A class action lawsuit entitled Ware et al v. ConAgra Foods Inc. is currently pending, along with a number of other lawsuits that have been filed.

Virginia Law & Food Poisoning
A manufacturer or distributor of food makes a "warranty" that it will be fit for consumption. If you believe that the product was unfit for human consumption at the time of delivery, then the manufacturer or distributor has failed to comply with its warranty. Additionally, if you believe that this failure was the cause of your illness or injury, then the law is in your favor.

A restaurant owner, when selling food to its customers, also makes a "warranty." This warranty means that the restaurant owner has declared that the food products being served are fit for consumption. If you believe that the restaurant sold or served you an unwrapped food product that was not fit for consumption, the restaurant has violated its warranty. If you believe that this warranty has been violated, causing your illness or injury, then the law is in your favor.

Food Poisoning
According to the Mayo Clinic, food poisoning is a "gastrointestinal disorder that results from eating contaminated food." These contaminated foods contain infectious organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Most people already have some of these organisms in their body, but a strong immune system usually keeps them from causing infections.

Annually, in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control, foodborne diseases cause approximately: 

• 76 million illnesses
• 325,000 people to be hospitalized
• 5,000 deaths

There are three main pathogens that are responsible for 1,500 deaths annually include:

• Salmonella is a bacterium that can be found in the intestines of birds, reptiles, and other mammals, and is spread to humans through different foods associated with these animals.

• Listeria is a bacterium that causes a serious infection caused by eating contaminated food.

• Toxoplasma Gondii is one of the most common parasites in the world, and approximately 60 million people in the United States have toxoplasmosis.

Symptoms

• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• abdominal pain
• stomach cramps
• loss of appetite
• fatigue
• fever

Food Recalls
If there is reason to believe that a product will cause consumers to become ill, or a product has been labeled incorrectly and could cause some consumers to have allergic reactions , a food recall is announced. All food recalls are done voluntarily by the manufacturer or distributor of the product. If a governmental agency feels there should be a recall, the manufacturer or distributor is asked to release this information to the public. For more information on food recalls visit Recalls.gov

Helpful Resources
It is important to be aware of food safety issues. The Food and Drug Administration provides consumers with information regarding recalls and other food safety alerts. The Food Safety and Inspection Service provides consumers with alerts on meats, poultry, and processed egg products.