When it comes to food poisoning, many people do not realize you can hire a lawyer for your injuries. Too often people with severe food-borne illnesses find themselves with high medical bills and ongoing health complications. That’s where a good Salmonella lawyer can come in.
A Salmonella lawyer can evaluate your claim and give you advice on your rights. Oftentimes victims of Salmonella infections feel worried or scared about going against a company or a restaurant that made them sick. This is where a Salmonella lawyer can help. It is not ok that you became sick after eating food prepared by a restaurant or food producer. By pursuing a claim, a Salmonella lawyer may be able to help you recover compensation for your medical bills, time away from work, or future medical expenses that may arise from any long-term complications you have as a result of your Salmonella infection.
Before you hire a Salmonella lawyer, there are 5 things you can do now to prepare:
- Find the Right Lawyer for You. All too often, food poisoning victims reach out to attorneys who may not specialize in food-borne illness claims. It is crucial to find a lawyer who not only understands how to handle a food poisoning claim, but also who specializes in the area to ensure that your case is valued properly.
- Get a Diagnosis. Just because you became sick after you ate a particular food items does not necessarily mean you have Salmonella. Symptoms of Norovirus and Staphylococcus aureus are similar to Salmonella symptoms. You want to make sure you actually have Salmonella, so the Salmonella lawyer can link your illness to the contaminated product that you have eaten. You can get a diagnosis by seeking medical attention and getting a stool test.
- Keep Your Receipt. If you purchased a contaminated product or went to a restaurant and ate contaminated food, it is a good idea to keep your receipt. This will help the Salmonella lawyer link your Salmonella infection to that particular food item or restaurant that made you sick.
- Keep a Journal. Sometimes it is helpful to make a journal entry about what you have gone through during your Salmonella infection. This will give the Salmonella attorney a timeline of events from the time you ate a particular food until you became sick. This will also help the attorney understand your symptoms and what you went through for your damages.
- Report Your Illness to Your Local Health Department. Food poisoning in general is highly underreported. Salmonella, even as common as it is, is also severely underreported. For every 1 confirmed Salmonella case, 29 go unreported. By reporting your illness the local health department can determine if your illness is part of an outbreak or help identify what food item may have made you sick.
By calling a Salmonella lawyer right away, you are helping to ensure your rights have been preserved. Even if you do not feel like you are prepared enough at this moment, calling a Salmonella lawyer sooner rather than later can help preserve your claim.
