Social Media Paves New Ground In Contaminated Food Cases
It is not uncommon for people to come down with a case of “food poisoning,” typically due to ingestion of Salmonella or E.Coli bacteria. It is also not uncommon to hear people suffering from food poisoning claim that they contracted the illness by eating a certain food product at a particular restaurant. While these origin theories may be correct, they are often difficult to prove unless the person can show that many people who also ate that same suspect food also became sick. Salmonella and E. coli symptoms typically manifest themselves anywhere from 12 to 72 hours after the contamination. With such a variance in the time frame, the person could have been exposed to the bacteria in any number of ways other than the initially suspect food products. For these reasons, potential claims against the culprit often face an uphill battle.
Social media, however, is coming to the rescue. According the L.A. Times, a number of customers took to Yelp in March to warn others about their negative, salmonella-inducing experiences at Don Antonio’s, a popular West Los Angeles Mexican restaurant. When at least 12 patrons complained of contracting salmonella, the L.A. County Department of Public Health conducted an inspection of the restaurant and allegedly discovered a number of serious safety code violations. The Department had previously given the restaurant an “A” rating. Two of those complainants have now filed suit against the restaurant, alleging product liability, negligence, breach of warranty, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
In yesteryear, it was very possible that salmonella and E. coli outbreaks like this one could have flown under the radar. These days, because of Yelp and other forms of social media, it is much less likely that outbreaks will remain clandestine. As such, when a claimant points the finger at a particular restaurant when inflicted with food poisoning, it is now much easier to prove (or at least corroborate) the merits of those allegations.
