You’re probably aware you can file an insurance claim after a car accident. Your claim can help you recover financial losses like medical expenses and property repair bills. The same applies if you’re injured at work. However, what about an E. coli infection?
Around 288 E. coli cases in San Diego were reported at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in 2017. In recent years, the number of reported infections has slightly increased. So, if your infection is part of an outbreak or a single incident, are you eligible to recover compensation? The answer to this question depends on a few factors.
Can You Prove Your E. Coli Diagnosis?
Before you can even start the insurance paperwork, you need to prove your E. coli diagnosis. In other words, you can’t simply claim you have the symptoms. Something else to consider is the severity of your symptoms. If you’re only dealing with mild stomach cramps and feeling a little nauseous, you probably can’t file an E. coli claim.
The reason is simple, your minor symptoms while irritating didn’t result in noticeable losses. The purpose of filing a personal injury claim is to recover your financial damages and these need to be more than the cost of an over-the-counter remedy.
If your E. coli symptoms are severe and send you to a physician or worse the hospital, you shouldn’t have a problem proving your diagnosis. Your medical records are typically enough. Since you’re also incurring medical costs, you also have potentially recoverable damages.
Plan on saving all medical documents relating to your E. coli diagnosis, which can include your bills, receipts, and even prescriptions.
Is Your E. Coli Claim Based on Negligence?
Most personal injury claims are based on negligence but not all. This may apply to your potential E. coli claim. You may have a strict product liability or breach of warranty claim, and this usually means you won’t need to prove negligence.
Feeling a little confused? Don’t worry, we’ll cover the three types of claims so you have a better idea of how to proceed with yours.
Negligence
Most E. coli claims are based on negligence, which means you need to prove the four key elements of negligence. Thankfully, if you can prove the first element, the rest often fall into place. Each of the following elements builds off of the other so if you can’t prove one, you can’t show the others.
Duty of Care
This refers to the duty of care pretty much everyone owes someone. Motorists have a duty of care to other drivers. This means following all road laws and operating a motor vehicle in a way that doesn’t endanger others.
For instance, grocers have a duty to their customers to ensure all food items on their shelves are safe for consumption.
Breach of Duty
The legal definition of breach of duty can be a little confusing. In simple terms, a breach of duty occurs when an individual’s actions or behavior isn’t that of a reasonable person. Since everyone’s definition of a reasonable individual can vary, showing a breach of duty can be complicated.
An example of a breach of duty in a negligent E. Coli claim can be if a grocer willfully leaves a known contaminated product on the shelves for customers to purchase.
Causation
Once you get to the third element of negligence, you’ve almost proven your claim. Causation is showing that the grocer’s breach of duty is the reason you’re diagnosed with an E. coli infection.
Even though we’re using a grocery store as an example. Restaurants, cafeterias, and even a neighborhood BBQ can also be named in your E. coli claim. Not all E. coli infections are caused by purchasing tainted food at the grocery store.
Damages
The final element of negligence is proving your damages. Your health records can prove your medical costs. If your symptoms are severe enough you miss work, your pay stubs can help prove your lost income.
Strict Liability
If you have a strict liability claim, you don’t need to prove negligence. A strict liability claim only requires you to show the food you purchased is contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Even though you don’t need to show that the defendant’s actions are reckless or negligent, proving the food is contaminated isn’t always easy. If the E. coli infection is caused by food purchased at a grocery store, it can be a little easier to prove strict product liability. Chances are, you still have something left to submit for testing.
If the infection is caused by food purchased at a restaurant, it can take a while to locate the tainted items. Often, this type of E. coli claim requires help from the Health Department. They will handle the testing and help isolate the source of your E. coli infection.
Breach of Warranty
Sometimes, this is one of the easiest types of E. coli cases to prove but not always. A breach of warranty claim occurs when someone sells food past its expiration date.
A quick note, you want to check the expiration date on all food items and not the best-by date. These are different dates and can impact a potential E. coli breach of warranty claim. The best-by date is simply the timeframe the manufacturer guarantees the food will look, taste, and smell precisely as advertised. The expiration date refers to when the food is no longer considered safe for human consumption.
All food sellers, suppliers, and manufacturers must adhere to the expiration date. If they ignore the date and continue selling the food, you may have grounds for filing an E. coli claim.
Learn More About Your Potential E. Coli Claim
So, do you have an E. coli claim based on negligence, breach of warranty, or strict liability? Trying to figure out the ins and outs of an E. coli claim can be enough to make you give up trying to recover compensation.
Talking to an E. coli accident attorney can provide guidance and help ensure you’re not stuck paying for the financial costs that often come with the infection.
