My 16 month old and myself (pregnant in 3rd trimester) got food poisioning from a japanese hibachi rest.?

his lab results came back today, he tested positive for E ColI SHIGA TOXIN EIA. Do we have a legal case with the rest?My 16 month old and myself (pregnant in 3rd trimester) got food poisioning from a japanese hibachi rest.?
And how do you know it came from the restaurant?



Based on your additional details, it definitely was NOT the restaurant. Shigella has an incubation period of 16 to 72 hours and E. Coli takes 2 to 7 DAYS to kick in. Your suspect meal was 2 or 3 days before you got sick.My 16 month old and myself (pregnant in 3rd trimester) got food poisioning from a japanese hibachi rest.?
Can you prove that it came from the specific place? Have you not eaten anywhere else in the last week?My 16 month old and myself (pregnant in 3rd trimester) got food poisioning from a japanese hibachi rest.?
Hope you brought some of the suspected food so they could test it as well. Can the doctor say with a fair amount of certainty that the food you ate could be the only source of your illness? If so, then you may have a case.**My 16 month old and myself (pregnant in 3rd trimester) got food poisioning from a japanese hibachi rest.?
From the facts you provided you do have a case against the restaurant.



You can lay a civil claim for damages for the impairment of you and your babies dignity and for pain and suffering, etc. However the restauran will only be liable to pay damages if it can be proved on a balance of probabilities that it was negligent or had an intention to poison you and your baby.



Alternativelly a criminal charge can be laid for attempted murder or culpable homicide. The restaurant will be guilty only if it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that it had an intetion to poison you, and that the poision was capable of causing death.



The best route to take is to lay a civil claim since the onus of proof(duty to prove) is much easier [on a balance of probabilities]. This is the best route in that if you win the case the money claimed will be yours personally, as opposed to where you lay a criminal charge in which case a criminal conviction will result and you will end up getting nothing at all.



However I would advise that you first try to reach a settlement with the restue [which will be satisfactory to you], and approach the court if the restue fails to agree on a reasonable settlement.



I doubt that it would refuse a reasonable settlement if it is at fault as the involvement of the court may adverselly impair its reputation and result in the loss of clients.
Theoretically you could sue for negligence and criminal charges could be laid against the restuarant. However in order to do this, you need to prove that it was the food that gave you food poisoning. This would be extremely difficult unless you took a sample of the food to be tested.



The best thing to do in this situation would be to write a letter to the restaurant with your complaint and say that you are contemplating reporting them to the food safety commission (or relevant authority). You may get your money back.