Food Poisoning Affecting Children & Potentially Leading to Lawsuits
Food poisoning usually results from eating food that has been contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites. The most common cause of food-related illness in the U.S. is salmonella, a type of bacteria. Although most people recover from a salmonella infection within a week, some severe cases may require hospitalization. Other common sources of food poisoning include norovirus, staphylococcus aureus (staph), and campylobacter. Varieties such as listeria, E.coli, and botulism are less commonly found but are more likely to lead to serious illness.
Anyone can get food poisoning, but children may suffer particularly serious symptoms due to their smaller bodies. For example, they may get dehydrated more quickly and require medical attention to replace fluids and restore their electrolyte balance. While encouraging their child to drink fluids as much as possible, parents should keep an eye out for signs of dehydration. These may include:
- Dry mouth
- Sunken eyes
- Lack of energy
- Dizziness or confusion
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sparse urination
Parents may want to contact their child’s pediatrician if they see these signs. Medical attention also may be needed if a child develops symptoms such as a high fever, blood in stool, breathing problems, or blurred vision, among others. Children who are younger than five years old not only are more susceptible to food poisoning because of their weaker immune systems but also may be more likely to require medical attention.
Lawsuits Based on Contaminated Food
Sometimes a child gets sick when parents fail to properly store food in the home, allowing bacteria to grow. However, many foodborne illnesses arise when a manufacturer sells a contaminated food product to unsuspecting consumers. When this happens, parents may be able to pursue a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer or other entities in the chain of distribution.
To establish liability, parents would need to show that their child developed an illness because of a defect in the food. Generally, plaintiffs can rely on a theory of strict liability in these cases, which means that they need to show the existence of a defect but not any lack of care by the manufacturer. Parents may be able to recover compensation for the costs of treating their child’s illness, such as hospital stays, doctor’s visits, and medication costs. They also might recover compensation for the pain and suffering that their child endured from the illness. If the manufacturer engaged in egregious wrongdoing, such as concealing evidence of contamination or declining to issue a recall when it found out, punitive damages may be available. These are awarded to punish a wrongdoer and deter similar conduct by the defendant and others.
Food contamination often affects many people who consumed a tainted product. If a large group of people suffer the same type of harm for the same reason, they may join in a class action against a manufacturer or another defendant. This can be a more efficient way to recover compensation, especially when each victim has not suffered huge losses individually. “Certifying” a class for a class action requires meeting certain criteria. These vary by jurisdiction, but often a court must find that common questions of law or fact unite the class members and that the class representative will adequately protect the interests of the class, among other factors.
