What Do You Do, When Resturaunt Food Poisons You???

[Larry_OHF]

I assume that anybody that eats out freaquetly can say that they have gotten food poison at least once from it. The causes include bad food, uncleanliness, inadequate cooking, etc. Sometimes the results are minimized to throwing up and diarreah 1-2 hours after consumption, and sometimes it can be more serious, depending on the details. What does one do? Have you ever gone back to the resturaunt? Did you tell them that you were made sick? Do you call health inspectors in to survey the resturaunt to determine if their rating should be dropped? And that brings up another point of interest. Everybody has their ratings posted, both in letter and number rating. Do you choose your resturaunts by their rating? Do you care that a 93%-A is barely passing?

I was poisoned yesterday after I bought a smoothie from the Smoothie Shop on campus at UNCG. I always go there. Now I am not so sure that I can go back. Should I talk to them about it? Should I try to find out who manages it, and talk to him/her?


In a non-related issue, a woman claims that she ordered Clam Chowder at a particular resturaunt and as she was eating it, discovered that she was chewing on an open condom. Resturaunt management refuses to take responsibility for the incident, saying that for all they know, this woman made the whole issue up, just to get money in court, and that there has been no evidence to support her claim that any employee of the resturaunt had anything to do with it. What do you think?

[ 11-12-2003, 12:31 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[Faceman]

IMHO there are two sensible approaches to that question:
1. Don't bother if it is too much hassle for you.
2. Go back and tell them politely. If they are trying to run their place (do their job) as best as they can (and everybody should be) you can support them by giving them the feedback. If you let it slide they will continue that way.
So:
If you try you may achieve nothing, but
if you don't try you WILL achieve nothing.

[Zuvio]

I totally agree on the too much trouble, don't bother point. And if the restaurant gives you a bad air, call a legal advice line and ask what you should do.

On the woman's case: was she ordering out of dining? If dining, immediately get support from your fellow diners and call an employee. That why you have substance when going to court. Otherwise you'll have a hard time proving it..

[Timber Loftis]

1. See a doctor.

2. Call me. [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

As for the lady who found the condom, I can't believe the restaurant reacted that way. I'd have offered a few thousand right up front -- with a confidentiality agreement. Hush her up. I bet this things already cost them that in legal bills, plus bad press to boot.

As for whether she made it up, I'd argue res ipsa loquiter ("the thing speaks for itself"). I'd focus on proving the condum was *in* the soup and argue it's not MY job to go find who put it there. It's like the barrel that rolls out of a warehouse and hits someone -- you may not know *what* went wrong inside, but something surely did.

[Gabrielles blades]

youll need to be able to prove that the restaurant in question is the cause of your poisoning ie you did not eat/drink anything else that day, or many other people got sick who ate there, and you did not have a personal factor in the poisoning ie you didnt buy a perfectly good tuna salad sandwich and then not eat it for 10 hours while it was unrefridgerated.

IMO, since your case is dealing with a take-out restaurant which serves mainly beverages your chances of proving your illness was due to them is slim since their product probably has a fairly low chance of being contaminated. Most foodborn illnesses are due to unwashed hands and improper cooking procedures; since those drinks as im aware arent really cooked in the first place (they are shelf stable) then that really only leaves unwashed hands, and perhaps poor quality water as the cause.

restaurants have a strict liability when it comes to their food, so if you can prove your case, then they will likely be liable for compensatory and punitive damages.

[Larry_OHF]

FYI>>>Ever wonder why people say never eat food that has a hair in it? the thing is, our bodies (and hair) have a natural bacteria on it called staph, which protects us from other bacteria, but when ingested, it can cause food poisoning effects. Maybe I injested a hair. I just hope it was not the coarse, curly-type.
[img]graemlins/1puke.gif[/img]

[ 11-12-2003, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: Larry_OHF ]

[RevRuby]

smoothie....hmmm....milk products, and the equipment used can be easily contaminated. was there yogurt or anything milk like in your smoothie? also how do they make the smoothies? is it like at an orange julius? witht he same blender things over and over again? or do they have big machines mixxing it all the time like an icee machine?

i ask all of this because many times the big machines can be cleaned wrong, or even just in dirty water and can contaminate everything it comes in contact with. and i personally would suspect that the blenders at an orange julius can become contaminated if not washed frequently.

after working in a wendy's for a very long time in my life i know how to clean a frosty machine and it's parts the right way, but i have seen lots of "trained" ppl do it wrong. i think you should go in and let them know that you got sick and suspect their smoothie. talk calmly and make it a point that they know you are concerned about the cleanliness of the store and simply want to protect others, not have personal gain.

good luck

[Gabrielles blades]

hrm, i thought they all used orange juice and a packet of flavoring + ice?

not so good factoid - if you find a cockroach in your food, unless you ate some of it, you cant sue.

[Larry_OHF]

Made with individual blenders, a little larger and stronger than a home version, they keep about a dozen of the mixing bowls cleaned and ready if needed. Cleaning involves rinsing them out with whatever. The smoothie in question is my favorite, and I no longer even order. I just walk in and the guy starts making it. It is a blend of frozen Vanilla yorgurt, rasberries, guava juice, blueberries, some other type of juice that I cannot remember, and ice.

[Aelia Jusa]

Perhaps the yoghurt was past its used-by date. Although, as has been said, you really can't be sure what made you sick, unless the smoothie was the only thing you ate that day. It could have been something you ate at home, or just some bug you picked up from touching a door knob or something. However it's perfectly natural to not want to go back again if you truly believe it was the smoothie that did it. You'll have been conditioned now to associate being sick with the smoothie, and in association, the smoothie shop. It's hard to counter that!