Did Your Thanksgiving Meal Make You Sick? Texans Can Fight Back

By December 6, 2019Food Poisoning

Did Your Thanksgiving Meal Make You Sick? Texans Can Fight Back

More than possibly any other holiday, Thanksgiving is all about the food. Unfortunately, this means that thousands of Americans succumb to food poisoning every Thanksgiving.

Most cases of food poisoning resolve on their own within a few days. However, food poisoning can also result in serious life-threatening complications or long-term health problems.

Fortunately, you have the ability to hold the responsible party liable with a personal injury suit, especially if the food that made you sick was from a store or restaurant.

How Food Poisoning Happens in Texas

Food poisoning is the result of some kind of contamination which can happen at any point in the food production supply chain, including:

  • Growing
  • Harvesting
  • Processing
  • Storage
  • Shipping
  • Preparation

Most often, food is contaminated with harmful pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Cross-contamination is another common cause of food poisoning.

So how do you know when your sickness is due to food poisoning? Let’s take a closer look at the most prevalent symptoms.

Texans Should Watch For These Signs of Food Poisoning

Many of us feel a little queasy after overindulging in holiday meals, but food poisoning symptoms go beyond standard indigestion.

Depending on the contaminating organism, food poisoning symptoms can occur within a few hours or a few days of consuming contaminated food. Symptom onset times for common forms of food poisoning are:

  • coli: 1-8 days
  • Listeria: 9-48 hours
  • Norovirus: 12-48 hours
  • Staph aureus: 1-6 hours

If you feel any combination of the following within the giving time frames, you could be suffering from one of the types of food poisoning above:

  • Stomach cramps
  • Nausea
  • Headache
  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea

The thing is, this isn’t always the worst of it. In more severe cases, food poisoning can cause complications you didn’t even think about.

Food Poisoning Complications Texans Could Face

Depending on the duration of your food poisoning symptoms, you might be forced to miss work to recover. You could also be left with high medical bills and long-term health problems in severe cases.

Many cases of food poisoning resolve on their own within a few days. The worst cases of food poisoning, though, can cause victims to develop the following severe symptoms:

  • Blood in the vomit or stool
  • Dehydration
  • HIgh fever
  • Diarrhea or vomiting lasting more than 3 days
  • Headaches
  • Blurry vision
  • Weakness
  • Numbness or tingling in the fingers and toes
  • Bloating

In severe food poisoning cases, victims can suffer permanent damage or even fatal health complications, including:

  • Liver problems
  • Seizure
  • Kidney problems
  • Reactive arthritis

Some people are more susceptible to food poisoning than others, and are more likely to suffer from severe food poisoning complications:

  • Children
  • Older adults
  • Pregnant women
  • People with health conditions like diabetes, liver or kidney or other immune diseases

If you are one of the unfortunate sufferers of severe food poisoning, you may have the right to seed damages for food poisoning in this state.

Seeking Damages for Food Poisoning in the State of Texas

Unfortunately, many serious cases of food poisoning can be prevented with proper food safety and food handling techniques.

If you were injured by food poisoning, particularly after consuming food prepared by a store or restaurant, consider seeking damages to recover from your injuries.

A personal injury suit for food poisoning can help your family recover from the damages caused by your illness. These damages include:

  • Past and future medical costs
  • Lost income
  • Out-of-pocket expenses
  • Emotional distress
  • Pain and suffering

If a loved one died from consuming food prepared by a commercial establishment, you might also be able to recover damages through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Seeking Damages for Food Poisoning in the State of Texas

The bottom line is that all commercial food establishments owe a duty of care to their customers, which includes serving food that’s safe to eat. If you’re injured by food poisoning, consider holding the responsible party accountable.

 

About the Author:

Brandon Fulgham has an in-depth understanding of both Texas law and Texans themselves. Before practicing law here, he received his undergraduate degree from TCU and his law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. After graduation, he worked in District Attorneys’ offices as a prosecutor. Now, he uses that knowledge to anticipate opposing counsel’s arguments and protect the rights of people in and around Fort Worth. He has been recognized for his work by The National Trial Lawyers, Fort Worth Magazine, and others.