Can I sue a restaurant for food poisoning?

Can I sue for food poisoning? This is a common question, and the answer is usually that you may as long as your damages may it worthwhile for you to sue. A restaurant owes a duty of care to their patrons.  This duty requires them to ensure they are providing a reasonably safe environment, and a reasonably safe product, that is free of hazards. If they feed you an item of tainted food that made you ill, then they can be considered to have been negligent and to have breached the legal duty they owed to you. This can give rise to legal responsibility. 

However, you will need to decide if it is worth it to actually go to court or not over the matter. Generally, if you take a case to court, you will be awarded damages for:

• Your medical costs incurred to treat the injury caused (any money you had to spend to get treatment for the food poisoning)
• Lost wages (the amount of cash you lost if the food poisoning caused you to miss a day of income)
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress

There may, in rare cases, also be punitive damages but these aren't going to be permitted in every state, and may not be allowed unless the restaurant's behavior and actions are considered to be especially negligent or destructive. 

To determine if it is worthwhile for you to bring a food poisoning claim against the restaurant based on your expected damages, it is in your best interests to consult with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after the food poisoning incident occurs.