Anyone with a severe food allergy, be it to nuts, shellfish, or other common food allergens, knows that a food allergy reaction can have severe symptoms and consequences. Mild allergic reactions may lead to a runny nose, rash, or itchy throat, but more severe symptoms include difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, or even anaphylaxis or potentially death. Because of the potentially life-threatening nature of allergic reactions, it is important for restaurants to take customers’ allergy claims seriously.

When a person suffers an allergic reaction at a restaurant that leads to illness, injury, or wrongful death, they may be able to sue the restaurant that served them the allergen-containing dish. But when suing a restaurant for food allergy cases, what do victims need to know?

A food allergy lawsuit requires four key elements: notice, assurance, breach, and damages. A customer must have alerted the restaurant to their allergy, the staff must have assured the customer the food was safe, the victim must have been served the unsafe food, and they must also have suffered damages as a result of the reaction.

When might a restaurant show negligence in causing an allergic reaction?

The difficulty in these cases is proving the negligence of the restaurant or food service worker. For example, a restaurant may claim the customer never disclosed their allergy; in those cases, witness testimony proving the victim disclosed the allergy is paramount. The restaurant may also dispute that they served the allergen, in which case testing proving the presence of the food allergen in the food can help substantiate the personal injury claim.

Some ways in which negligence might manifest on the part of a restaurant can include:

  • Misinformation: Some of the most common instances of negligence when it comes to food allergies involve misinformation. For example, if a restaurant fails to disclose all the ingredients that a particular dish contains, it could be found liable if one of those undisclosed ingredients causes an allergic reaction for a customer.
  • Ignoring a clearly disclosed allergy: Restaurants may also be found negligent if they ignore a clearly disclosed allergy. This can be unintentional, such as a server forgetting to properly enter a customer’s allergy into the order system or a cook missing this information on the ticket, or intentional, such as a chef ignoring an allergy out of a belief that a customer is lying.
  • Failing to prevent cross-contamination: Another example of negligence on the part of a restaurant is a failure to prevent cross-contamination. In some instances, cross-contamination may not be able to be prevented, such as in shared fryers. However, when a restaurant agrees to make something “allergy-friendly,” they are expected to follow proper procedures, including washing hands or changing gloves, using clean knives and kitchen utensils, and sanitizing prep and cook stations.

Because of the difficulty of proving negligence and liability in food allergy lawsuits, it is important to hire a personal injury lawyer with a background and winning track record in these types of cases. If you have suffered an allergic reaction due to a restaurant’s negligence in Virginia, look no further than Richmond-based law firm Burnett & Williams. Burnett & Williams’s team of expert lawyers, including partner Kimberly Raab, will stand up for the rights of victims and fight to get them the compensation they deserve.

Hire Burnett & Williams to be your personal injury lawyers for your food allergy lawsuit

One of the biggest questions that many victims and restaurant owners alike have is, “Is a warning enough?” Most people have seen the fine print on a menu explaining that food is cooked in a shared kitchen and that a lack of cross-contamination may not be guaranteed. However, if a guarantee is made about the allergen status of a dish, such as it being marked gluten-free on a menu or even the server or manager agreeing to make an allergy-safe serving, this type of promise can supersede a disclaimer.

Victims may also wonder the type of compensation they may receive for the damages they have suffered from an allergic reaction. Damages often include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and any permanent scarring or disability that the reaction may have caused, as well as for intangible damages like pain and suffering. Severe allergic reactions that result in death may also trigger a wrongful death claim that could compensate loved ones for loss of companionship or services.

“If you or a loved one has suffered an allergic reaction because of a negligent restaurant, contact Burnett & Williams today for a free consultation,” says Raab. “We will review your case and determine if we are the right fit to be your legal representation.”