Can I Sue a Restaurant for Vibrio vulnificus?
Yes, you can file a Vibrio vulnificus lawsuit if you or a loved one developed an infection after eating contaminated seafood at a restaurant and there is evidence supporting your claim. Vibrio vulnificus can cause severe illness and is the leading cause of death related to seafood consumption in the U.S. Our law firm recently won a wrongful death lawsuit for a family whose loved one died of Vibrio vulnificus after eating raw oysters at an oyster bar in Florida. You can contact our law firm for a free consultation with a Vibrio lawyer using the form below.
What is Vibrio Vulnificus Food Poisoning?
Vibrio vulnificus are waterborne bacteria that live in warm, coastal seawater where non-mobile shellfish that filter water through their gills, such as oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops are especially vulnerable to contamination. Although any shellfish or finfish can become contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus, oysters are the food source most commonly associated with these infections.
Seafood that is contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus doesn’t have an altered taste or smell so you can’t tell whether or not it is present in raw seafood.
Symptoms of Vibrio vulnificus infection (vibriosis) include vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, fever and chills. These symptoms usually appear one to three days after eating contaminated food and last about 72 hours. Treatment includes antibiotics and supportive care.
If the infection travels from the digestive tract to the bloodstream, it causes septicemia, a severe and life-threatening illness characterized by fever, chills, nausea, decreased blood pressure (septic shock), and blistering skin lesions. These infections must be treated in a hospital setting.
People with serious underlying health conditions such as liver disease, cancer, or an immune deficiency are at highest risk for these serious infections. Vibrio vulnificus bloodstream infections are fatal about 60 percent of the time.
Vibrio vulnificus Lawsuit
If you or a loved one developed a Vibrio vulnificus infection from contaminated seafood you ate at a restaurant, please contact our Vibrio Legal Team for a free consultation. Led by Eric Hageman, our Vibrio lawyers are among the very few in the country who have successfully represented clients in these complicated cases.
Contact the Pritzker Hageman Vibrio Lawyers Today
Phone: 888-377-8900 | Text: 612-261-0856
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Sources:
1. CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/vibriov/
2. Linkous, D. A. and Oliver, J. D. (1999), Pathogenesis of Vibrio vulnificus. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 174: 207–214. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1999.tb13570.x
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/0815/p539.html