According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48 million people, or roughly one in 7 people, contract a form of food poisoning every year in the United States. In addition, of these 48 million, 128 000 are hospitalized, and 3000 results in death.
Food poisoning can have mild to lethal effects on different individuals depending on their immune systems and their level of vulnerability.
It is usually caused when bacteria or viruses such as norovirus, salmonella, clostridium perfringens, campylobacter, and staphylococcus aureus infect the food eaten.
Food poisoning can be contracted from eating restaurant food, buying a food product from a grocery store, and many other food outlets.
Most people put off the action in court when the poisoning occurs mainly because the effects are mild. However, when the effect is severe, it is not unusual for people to institute actions in court.
Legal animation can be used in this regard to give credence to the victim’s testimony and highlight the complications that may have accompanied the incident.
What are the complications that can arise after food poisoning?
Most food poisoning cases resolve within a short period without much ado. However, some food poisoning cases go far beyond this to life-threatening complications.
Complications mostly occur in people who are considered vulnerable such as babies, children, the elderly, long-term diabetes patients, people living with HIV/ AIDs, cancer patients, and pregnant women.
Thus, aggrieved parties can use legal animation to prove the case to the best of their capability should it appear in court.
Here are some of the common complications that can arise from food poisoning:
- Kidney failure
Hemolytic-uremic syndrome is an illness that can be caused by food poisoning, which sometimes leads to kidney failure. After poisoning, the liver can become infected and other internal organs.
The kidney could become damaged and inflamed, causing clots to form in the blood vessels. The clots inevitably clog the kidney’s filtering system and cause kidney failure.
- Arthritis
Arthritis is a long-term effect of food poisoning usually arising from salmonella-based infection resulting in urinary tract infections and joint pain.
The pains can last for weeks and sometimes years. In some extreme cases, the reaction of the joint leads to lifelong, chronic arthritis.
- Brain /Nerve Damage
Prevalent in babies, food poisoning leading to the contraction of meningitis, an inflammation of the brain’s surrounding membrane, can sometimes lead to brain or nerve damage.
This illness usually affects mental retardation, paralysis, seizures, deafness, or blindness.
- Death
Death sometimes occurs due to food poisoning. This is why you should seek emergency health care after symptoms arise.
Death usually occurs when serious illnesses develop or the condition is left untreated for too long, leading to dehydration.
What are the types of actions that can arise out of a food poisoning case?
When food poisoning is suffered, it is appropriate to institute an action in court to attain justice and adequate compensation for the harm suffered.
These are the types of actions that can be undertaken for a food poisoning case:
- Strict product liability
In a strict liability case, the injured person is relieved of the responsibility to prove that the supplier or manufacturer of a contaminated food product did not exercise sufficient care in producing and distributing the product.
However, this will be a possible point of action if you can show that the food product was contaminated and the contamination is the proximate cause of your illness. This is a huge advantage if you could have the food product examined or there has been a report of such contamination in the said food product.
If you consider instituting your food poisoning action through strict liability, you can depict the contaminated food and the resultant effect on the human body using legal animation.
- Negligence
In a case of food poisoning caused by negligence, you can argue that the supplier or manufacturer of the food product did not exercise reasonable care in the product’s manufacturing, supply, or distribution, thereby causing the food to be contaminated. Hence, your sickness.
However, in this scenario, you will need to proof that reasonable care, such as a clean environment, proper storage of raw foods, and good cooking of meals were not duly carried out.
- Breach of Warranty
In most states, there is a minimum standard on products normally referred to as implied warranties.
Hence, when the food you’re served is contaminated, it would mean the restaurant has violated or breached such a warranty.
For instance, in the case of Sarti v. Salt Creek Ltd, a case of food poisoning, which started as mild diarrhea and ended with the appellant using a walker for eight months without fully recovering, was brought by way of a breach of warranty.
Beyond the implied warranties, sometimes the restaurant or food supplier provides an additional warranty which can be an express guarantee of the absolute safety of the food product.
If such a guarantee breaches, you can start an action in court to seek justice and get compensated for the injury sustained.
Conclusion
Food poisoning as a cause of action is usually taken with seriousness because of the potential harm that can result from it. This is why legal animation is sometimes introduced to the case to ensure that all aspects of the case are duly covered and summarized. It is usually beneficial to consult with an experienced legal animation company to help with creating an admissible trial exhibit.
