Who is liable?

[Searchist]

I attended a works bbq a few weeks ago and have pinpointed the food from this event as the source of a campylobacter infection. I have a long term medical condition which has flared up because of this and have had 2 hospital admissions. I have missed a festival and about to miss another holiday because of this. I have also missed several weeks at work.

The bbq was arranged by an appointed social committee and the bbq provided by a member of staff. They were paid for this however I suspect they are not registered as a business or have public liability insurance etc.

Due to the impact of the illness I am considering seeing a personal injury specialist.

Who would my claim be against? My employer as the organiser or the caterer?

Thanks

It may be that you'd sue your employer whose legal rep would then legally add the caterer as a Second Named Defendant. If it got the length of court the judge would decide where the liability would lie. It's sometimes done as a % liability between both defendants.

You would have to prove who is at fault. Did anyone else get sick? At the very least, the food and hygiene department/inspector should be notified.

Environmental health have been in touch and am about to send them all of the details they have requested. I'm not sure if anyone else has been sick but I did had back a clearly undercooked chicken burger which I had half eaten before noticing. I am hoping to get a documented admission of this before doing anything else.

What impact will suing your employer and and fellow employee have on you?

That is one of my concerns that relationships will be strained afterwards however I didn't choose to be in this position and have already suffered hardship. I don't see why I should accept this. I am trying to understand where the liability is with a view to dealing with this amicably internally first as this may be favorable to all parties as the only winners are the lawyers once they get involved.

Then maybe speak to them first. Explain the situation and losses rather than jumping to a personal injury claim.

This could damage your reputation (unfairly, i know). Potentially stop work events that the majority enjoy, which you will get blamed for. So damage your work relationships.

The person doing the bbq is likely to have lots of sympathy from other work people.

There could be more hardship for you if you jump straight to 'personal injury'. Trying to prove your burger was raw, when others didnt get sick could prove difficult as well.

No doubt about it, it will damage your work repuration

I would imagine that the person you gave the burger back to will deny all knowledge , and surely there were more undercooked burgers , did anybody else get sick or did everyone else realise they were not cooked through .

Surely this wouldn't really impact the business as such as it woukd be an insurance matter. The business should not discuss this with sny of the employees as should op. It really should not cause any strained relationship if handled correctly. The OP should not be out of pocket or otherwise impacted because of a work run / organised / endorsed event.

waa the operative word is should.

Of course if the business and their employee is sued, gossip will happen.

Impossible to prove where it comes from. It should be an insurance matter. But the organisers and empolyer will probably have an emotional response as well. Its just real life.

I'd be surprised if someone was willing to give you a documented admission that you had a undercooked chicken burger. Unless there was witnesses?

So basically you want them to admit it then give you money? I'm not sure it will be as easy as that. I'd also speak to them and explain. See what they say.

Be very very careful of no win no fee lawyers. Read the small print. Many of them do not do what is said on the tin and charge you for a loss deep in the contracts. These are really shady firms in many cases. Either way they get their money.

It would be v hard to prove cause and effect I think, if no one else got ill (I know its likely you got I'll from the food there, but that isn't proof). I agree in principle that you could do this, but I agree with others that you may be seen as litigious afterwards.
I have a friend who got very ill after eating out in restaurant, because food contained gluten, and she'd checked it didn't, but she didn't attempt to get damages ,due to difficulty of proving it, and she didn't see it as worth the time and hassle.