Are you one of the people in the United Kingdom who suffers from a food allergy? According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), around 2.4 million adults in the UK have a clinically confirmed food allergy, which is about 6% of the adult population. If you’ve suffered from an allergic reaction, you might wonder, “Can You Sue A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?” Then this guide might help you.
If you have suffered an allergic reaction after consuming certain foods from a restaurant, then you could be eligible to make a claim for compensation. This guide examines the personal injury claim process and what evidence you could gather to help support your case. Additionally, we provide information on how compensation could be awarded for successful allergic reaction claims. To conclude we look at how a solicitor working on a No Win No Fee basis could help secure allergic reaction compensation.
At Public Interest Lawyers we will go out of our way to help answer any questions that you may have and hopefully put your mind at ease if you ever find yourself in a situation where you would like to make a claim as a result of an allergic reaction in a restaurant.
Please feel free to contact us on the details below for your no obligation chat:
- Call: 0800 408 7825
- Fill out our contact us form for a call back.
- Ask about claiming in our live chat.
Browse Our Guide
- Can You Sue A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?
- How Could An Allergic Reaction Happen In A Restaurant?
- What Could You Do If You’ve Suffered An Allergic Reaction?
- How Much Allergic Reaction Compensation Could You Receive?
- How Can A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me Sue A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?
- Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
Can You Sue A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?
The short answer is YES, you can sue a restaurant for an allergic reaction. However, there are some factors that need to be taken into account. Firstly, you must prove that the restaurant in question did not adhere to relevant food safety legislation.
Under the Food Safety Act 1990, restaurants owe their customers a duty of care. This means that businesses cannot serve food in a way that will damage the health of those consuming it. It applies during all preparation, handling and storage. To ensure compliance with this duty, restaurants need to make sure they adhere to the Food Information Regulations 2014. These regulations state that a restaurant must make sure the consumer is aware of any allergen due to their potentially dangerous nature.
So, in order to have good grounds to launch a food allergy claim, you must prove that:
- A duty of care was owed by the restaurant.
- The duty of care was breached.
- This breach resulted in an allergic reaction.
If you believe that you have not been provided with all of the allergen information and you suffered harm as a result, call our team and ask, ‘Can I sue a restaurant for an allergic reaction?’. They can help assess if you can make a public liability claim.
How Many Food Allergens Are There?
The Food Standards Act 1999 establishes the Food Standards Agency (FSA). This is an independent government department that works to protect public health as it relates to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under this act, the FSA has the power to act in the consumer’s interest at any stage throughout the food supply chain. As part of their role, they issue allergen guidance for food businesses.
Under this guidance, businesses such as restaurants need to make the consumer aware of the following 14 allergens in the food they offer:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Nuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soya
- Sulphur dioxide (sometimes known as sulphites)
These are the typical allergens that could result in a restaurant breaching their duty of care if they don’t handle products containing these ingredients correctly.
How Could An Allergic Reaction Happen In A Restaurant?
Examples of how allergic reactions can happen in restaurants include:
- Informing the waiter/waitress that you have an allergy and them failing to consider it, resulting in the meal causing you to suffer an allergic reaction.
- Your food being mislabelled (meaning that, on the menu, it does not state that it contains the allergen in question), or not being told to ask about allergens (for example, because it isn’t printed on the menu). This means you aren’t able to make an informed decision to avoid that meal because you aren’t made aware that it contains this allergen.
- Cross contamination. This can be from food being mishandled in the kitchen. For example, if food is not stored correctly, traces of an allergen can be found. The restaurant should make you aware of the potential for cross-contamination. If they fail to do so, you could have a reaction.
What If You Didn’t Tell The Restaurant About Your Allergy?
In some cases you can make an allergic reaction claim against a restaurant if they failed to inform you of allergens even if you didn’t tell them you had any allergies.
Restaurants should provide full allergen details on a menu, chalkboard, info pack, or verbally (this should be backed up with written information). They may also display a written notice with information about how customers can obtain allergen details. However, this needs to be in a clearly visible stop.
Speak to an advisor to discuss whether you can sue a restaurant for an allergic reaction.
What Could You Do If You’ve Suffered An Allergic Reaction?
If you have suffered an allergic reaction and would like to make a claim then we can help with this. As part of the personal injury claims process, you will need to collect evidence.
Once you have received the correct treatment and you could ask your doctor or a healthcare professional to provide you with a copy of your medical records. These will contain details of the allergic reaction, plus your known allergies. They can be very useful when making a personal injury claim.
Furthermore, you or whoever you were with could take photographs of the locations, food, and menu to illustrate what you ordered in comparison to the dish you received.
Further evidence that could be useful includes:
- Taking photographs of your injury (rash, swollen head/hands/feet/neck).
- Contact information from any potential witnesses. They could be interviewed to provide another account of how the incident occurred.
- Any physical menus from the venue that you might have.
To discuss this matter in more detail please contact us for a no obligation chat. One of our advisors can help answer your question, ‘Can you sue a restaurant for an allergic reaction?’
How Long Do You Have To Make An Allergic Reaction Claim?
As with most personal injury claims, the time limit in a food allergy claim is typically 3 years from the date the allergic reaction occurred. This is established by the Limitation Act 1980. Exceptions to this can be made in some circumstances, such as:
- Minors (under the age of 18) cannot pursue a claim themselves. However, while they are minors, a responsible adult can apply to the courts to be a litigation friend and pursue the claim on their behalf. Once they turn 18, they will have three years from that date to pursue a personal injury claim.
- People who lack sufficient mental capacity to manage a claim. The time limit is frozen indefinitely. Again, a suitable adult can apply to act as the injured person’s litigation friend and commence the claim on their behalf. However, if the injured party regains this capacity, then the time limit will start from that date, giving them three years to start a claim.
Ask one of our advisors about the limitation period for allergy claims. They can assess your claim and see if you are still within the time limit.
How Much Allergic Reaction Compensation Could You Receive?
If you successfully claim against a restaurant for an allergic reaction, your compensation award could consist of up to two heads of loss. These are general damages and special damages.
General damages compensate for the pain and suffering you have experienced due to your allergic reaction. Therefore, they can take into account the severity of your condition, the impact on your quality of life, the loss of enjoyment caused, the treatment you have had, the recovery period, etc.
We’ve provided a table below to show you how compensation could be valued in a successful claim. The figure in the first row shows you how you could be compensated for multiple types of harm caused by the allergic reaction and special damages. The remaining figures were taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). Those responsible for valuing claims may refer to these compensation guidelines to help them.
| Injury | Severity | Compensation guidelines |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries With Financial Losses | Extremely Severe | £500,000+ |
| Brain Injury | Moderate (i) | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Moderate (ii) | £110,720 to £183,190 | |
| Moderate (iii) | £52,550 to £110,720 | |
| Lung | Breathing Difficulties | £38,210 to £66,920 |
| Lung | Slight Breathlessness | £12,990 to £25,380 |
| Non-Traumatic Digestive System Damage | Severe | £46,900 to £64,070 |
| Serious | £11,640 to £23,430 | |
| Significant | £4,820 to £11,640 | |
| Skin Conditions | Cracking and Sore | £16,770 to £23,430 |
It must be noted that the figure from the first entry has not been taken from the Judicial College (JCG). We must state that all claims are different, with different factors affecting them and as such, these compensation figures are not guaranteed.
Special damages compensate for the past and future financial losses incurred as a result of your injuries.
For example,
- care costs
- loss of earnings
- medical expenses
- travel expenses
You will need documented proof of these expenses. Evidence that can be collected to support these losses could include:
- Wage slips
- Receipts for any medical treatment / medicines
- Tickets / receipts for travel
- Record of who has taken care of you for how long hours/days
If you have any questions about how allergic reaction compensation could be awarded or would like a free valuation of your claim, please call a member of our advisory team.
How Can A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me Sue A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?
Now, I guess you are wondering how much it will cost to make an allergic reaction claim with representation from Public Interest Lawyers. Well, we can confirm that it will not cost you a penny upfront or as your claim is ongoing. It also won’t cost anything if your allergy claim fails.
This is because of the type of No-Win, No-Fee arrangement our panel of solicitors offers. Our panel offers its services under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under this type of agreement, you only pay a success fee if your claim wins. This is taken as a legally limited percentage from the compensation awarded to you.
To find out more and discuss can you sue for a restaurant for an allergic reaction:
- Phone: 0800 408 7825
- Contact us via our website
- Ask about allergic reaction claims in our live chat.
Learn More About Personal Injury Claims
Here are a few more personal injury guides from our website:
- Learn how compensation could be awarded for a slip and fall in a restaurant with our guide.
- In this case study, we look at a latex allergy compensation payout.
- This detailed guide looks at when and how to file a report in the accident book in public places.
Further information from across the web:
- Follow this link to find out what a Food Allergy is from Allergy UK.
- Information and fact sheets from Anaphylaxis UK for people with serious allergies.
- The Government sets out Food labelling rules for restaurants.
If you need any more advice about whether you can sue a restaurant for an allergic reaction, contact one of our advisors today.
