I have campylobacter- can I sue?

[Poppy]

I have terrible food poisoning. Won't go into details but never felt such pain (worse than labour) and am generally really ill. I know where I got the campylobacter-apparently the environmental health automatically get in touch when this has been found in a sample. Can I sue? My husband had to take all week off work to look after our baby as I've been out for the count. He was still paid though...regardless of that I feel I want compensation for having it as it's so awful.
thanks

[Scarlett]

Where did you get it from?

Can you prove it?

[smurfchops]

You will probably need a sample of the food you ate (have you some left in the fridge?) and proof of where you bought it - good luck !

[kazzianne]

my son had this and was hospitalised for 3 days,but we never could prove where he caught it.Poor you - the pain is horrendous.

[Gef]

How do you know you have campylobacter? Are you running a lab which takes samples? Or have you just been skiving for a week?

Obviously if you have contacted environmental health and they have taken samples which prove your case then you can expect compensation.

[scruffscat]

my son had a case of cryptosporidiosis, after eating some of his friends take out, he was in absolute agony and very poorly for a week.if you cant get compensation for this its about time you did.i had time off at one point to look after him it was so bad, as well as him missing important schooling.its disgusting you can pick something up like that from an eatery

[alijangra]

You would not be able to prove beyond all doubt what caused it. They will ask you for a list of all you have eaten for last seven days. This is incase of an outbreak so they can compare with others.

[gessoo]

Oh Poppy, Poor you. I had campylobacter during a holiday in Portugal and had to travel home by plane the day befoe it was at it's worse. I was ill for days before it hit me properly. I managed to avoid hospital but really thought I was dying for about a week and in the end was off work for three weeks. It also affected all my joints and the pain was horrendous. My husband had to keep calling the doctor out because I was delirious with the high temperature and the pain.

I don't know about sueing. I suppose you could try. I never even thought about it. I was contacted by the local environmental health and believe it or not all they were interested in was telling me about washing my hands after visiting the loo and insisted they send me a leaflet about kitchen hygiene - all this when it was obvious it came from Portugal.

Compylobacter is usually found in individual cases and does not happen in outbreaks, so you would have great difficulty in proving its source.

I hope you feel much better soon xxxxx

I hope you feel better really soon.

[Poppy]

Hi,
I haven't yet got my home-lab up and running so I took up the doctor's kind offer to provide a sample. I presume it went to the hospital thereafter and they told me it was campylobacter-I had never heard of it.

I'm sure I got it from a Chinese restaurant (cheap buffet), loads of chicken. It had to be but no, I certainly wouldn't be able to prove it (unless the environmental health have more evidence against them). The Env.H get in touch automatically because GP's are obliged to report it.
Yes, Kazziane it is INCREDIBLY painful-your poor son!

Thanks for answers.

Gef, I take it from your interest in my lab that you'd like to submit something or other from for testing...what is it you have?

[Gef]

Sorry, Poppy. Too much wine on a Friday night and I was just stirring things up. Hope you are now fully recovered.