Regardless of the severity of your E. coli case, you may be entitled to receive compensation to help cover some or all of your related expenses. However, ignoring any of the steps to file an E. coli claim in Houston can make it difficult to recover damages.
What is E Coli?
Escherichia coli (E. coli) refers to a broad family of bacteria present in human and animal digestive systems, typically located in the intestines.
While most E. coli strains are beneficial, they aid digestion, some can cause severe gastrointestinal distress. This type of E. coli bacteria produces the Shinga toxin, most commonly responsible for causing the food-borne illness.
So, what are the common symptoms of E. coli? These can range from feeling nauseous to vomiting. Other symptoms often include:
- Abdominal cramps, sometimes severe
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Extreme fatigue
- Weakness in your muscles and joints
Your skin may also be pale or flushed, depending on your symptoms. Some severe cases of E. coli poisoning can lead to health complications like kidney failure. The condition, known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) occurs when red blood cells prevent the kidney from functioning.
How to File an E. Coli Injury Claim
Filing a claim after coming down with E. coli poisoning can be a complicated process. Even though food poisoning falls under the personal injury law umbrella, the steps for filing a claim are a little different than if you’re in a car accident.
Seek Medical Attention
Before you start thinking about compensation, you need to find out if you’re suffering from E. coli poisoning. This isn’t something that you can just assume you have and file a successful insurance claim.
You must prove you contracted the bacterial infection, and this means a visit to your healthcare provider. Besides, if E. coli is left untreated it can turn into a life-threatening infection.
If you’re concerned about going through an extensive testing procedure, you can relax. Testing for E. coli only requires a stool sample. While not pleasant, it’s a little easier than sitting through a ton of lab tests. Once your test results are back, you can start treating the infection.
Save all of your medical records, including your E. coli test results. Not only does it prove you contracted the infection but your medical records are also used to determine compensation amounts. You’ll also want to save any receipts for prescriptions to treat E. coli, along with any medical bills you’re paying out of pocket.
If you’re wondering about costs your health insurance may be picking up, these can’t be included in your E. coli claim. You can also list non-covered damages.
Track Down the Source of the Infection
E. coli poisoning is typically caused by tainted foods but the bacteria can also be present in unpasteurized liquids like milk and cider. While it can take up to 14 days for symptoms to appear, most people start showing signs of E. coli poisoning within 3 to 5 days of eating or drinking contaminated food or beverages.
Since symptoms aren’t instantaneous, thinking back to everything you’ve eaten and drank over the last few days can be difficult. You need to narrow it down to a specific date and from there start reviewing your diet.
Sometimes, more than one individual comes down with E. coli poisoning. If you notice headlines about an E. coli outbreak occurring when your symptoms appeared, this can make it easier to track down the infection’s source. However, if you seem to be the only case of E. coli poisoning, you may need to rely on the health department to locate the source.
Sure, this can take time and delay your ability to file a personal injury claim but you can’t proceed until you can name a defendant. In other words, you can’t file a claim against an unnamed entity.
Prove Negligence
To move forward with an E. coli claim, you need to prove negligence, which is usually a requirement in any personal injury claims, even ones involving E. coli infections.
To show negligence, you must demonstrate the defendant owes you a duty of care. Whether it’s a restaurant, grocery store, manufacturer, or supplier, they owe consumers a duty of care to provide food and beverages safe for human consumption.
If the products are tainted and supplied to the public, it’s often considered a breach of their duty of care. Proving a breach of duty of care in an E. coli claim can be challenging. You must show the defendant knowingly provided tainted food or drinks without warning the public.
It can also make it difficult to name a defendant in your claim. For example, the restaurant serving the tainted food may not know it’s unsafe. The supplier or grower may be the responsible party instead of the restaurant.
The other parts of negligence in an E. coli claim are causation and damages. You must show the tainted items are directly responsible for your E. coli poisoning and you wouldn’t have damages if you weren’t ill.
Calculate Damages
Once you’re ready to file your claim, you need to calculate your damages. These are your losses caused by the E. coli infection. Medical bills are a commonly listed damage. If your E. coli poisoning causes you to miss work, you should be able to include your lost income in the claim.
You may also have non-economic damages like pain, suffering, and mental anguish. You can also include these damages in your claim. Your attorney can help you calculate your non-economic damages to help ensure you receive fair compensation.
Talk to a Houston Injury Attorney About Your E. Coli Claim
If you come down with E. coli poisoning, you may be entitled to file a claim to recover your damages. Given the complexity and time-consuming nature of the legal process, working with an experienced attorney is often the best course of action.
Your attorney can assist you in navigating your claim, from determining liability to calculating the full extent of your damages, to make sure that you have the best chance of receiving fair compensation.