Legal advice?

CarlosGilbertos

CarlosGilbertos

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Carl
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Hey guys

I'm wondering if anyone has had any experience with suing companies for negligence.


3 days ago I bought a flapjack from my local bakery, the same flapjack I've had once or twice a week for the last 15 years.
I asked for a fresh cream donut, a flapjack and a lemon tart. All of which i recieved and paid for.
Later that day I ate the flapjack in question only to have an allergic reaction. The flapjack I ate contained peanuts throughout and I had to rush to A&E for an injection to stop my throat closing up and stopping me breathing.

I returned to the bakery the next day to speak to someone in charge about what had happened and was informed that they had started selling a new peanut butter flapjack and that was what I had been given.
She was very apologetic and gave me the phone number of the owner of the company and I will be meeting with him next week.

My main question was, legally speaking, would I have some sort of case if I were to sue the company in any way? Considering I could very well be dead right now...

I'm a bit unsure of how to proceed to be honest!
 
You probably have a case but there are several things to consider in my opinion. Firstly please understand that it's not my place to say whether or not I think you are right or wrong to take then to task - just pointing out some things that spring to mind.

There's probably a sign somewhere saying that any of their products may contain nuts.

The staff member either made an honest mistake or there was no clear communication as to which of the available flapjacks you wanted.

You have responsibility to ask staff if the product contains nuts. It appears you made an assumption that the product was what you expected it to be based on past experience - did you see the product being taken from the shelf and was that product described as peanut butter flapjack or whatever.

Are the staff aware you have a nut allergy? If they do then they certainly should have taken more care.

Finally,

Glad you're fine.
 
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Why sue?
Did they deliberately give you a flapjack containing nuts, knowing you were allergic to nuts?
Did you know you were highly allergic to nuts?

You were given adrenaline, which is quite a fasting acting drug when used in Anaphylaxis ( extreme allergic reaction ) and is carried on all ambulances.

Have you suffered any ill effects of the reaction? In fact this incident could save your life at some time later, since now you know you are highly allergic to peanuts I would assume that you will be issued with an epipen ( a small injection pen filled with a dose of adrenaline which can be self administered by the person suffering the allergic reaction).

Chalk it up to a life experience.
 
Having reread your post about the severe reaction it is obviously even more important for you to look after yourself & check what you eat
 
I have a couple of friends with severe allergies and they both carry adrenaline loaded syringes in case of anaphylaxis. The chap with the food allergy also makes sure (by asking) that anything he buys is safe.

I'm sorry the OP has suffered but can't see that the bakery is at fault unless they are aware of his allergy. IMO, he should go to see a solicitor and make him richer - he'll get better advice there.
 
My first thought to your post was 'glad you're ok'.

My second thought was 'exactly why are you wanting to sue?' ... Reiterating the comments above...

I'm sorry for the experience you've had, but it just seems that more and more we're becoming a society where we feel we shouldn't be responsible for ourselves and our own actions, and quick to lay blame or responsibly anywhere else... I'm not comparing your situation exactly to this, but it does remind me of the fella back home in Canada that got rat faced drunk with his friends, went down to the waterfront, and jumped in, ignoring the danger signs. He jumped on a rock, ended up paralysed... He sued his friends for not stopping him. The case got thrown out of court, but not before a few of them got scared that he might win and settled out of court...

Just my two cents...
 
I guess it's the same as me going into a bar to buy a ginger beer, only to find halfway through it has a decomposed snail in it.

I guess I'd have no case...

...guess I should have specified I didn't want a snail in the ginger beer when I bought it.
 
Also OP, I'm glad you're ok.

Surprised people aren't questioning the fact you weren't given what you ordered.

If I wanted a heart transplant, but didn't specify what species the heart was from and thus ended up dead because they tried to force a horse heart in me....surely that's not ok?

But in terms of allergy the law isn't really in your favour

People have died through food allergies at fault of the eatery and received less than a meeting with the owner.
 
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Firstly I'm glad you're ok, but I think this is a case of wanting to immerse yourself in American culture.

I can only echo what's already been said, you're responsible for what you eat, and you should at least check what you're about to eat before you do instead of absent mindedly scoffing it. You cannot make assumptions that what you're about to eat is fine. For example, if i started eating a packet of ready salted crisps and they didnt taste like ready salted, I would immediately be inspecting them very closely before eating the rest. You have to take responsibility for your own well being, and not presume others will do it for you.

Did you know you had a peanut allergy? If not, I'd be thanking the bakery for bringing the issue to light as it could save your life in the future. I imagine this is the case seeing as you didn't have one of those allergy pens.

If you did, why didn't you spit it out as soon as you realised it was full of peanuts (which I imagine would be the first bite), or check it as soon as you realised it didnt taste exactly the same as the previous 1170 flapjacks you have eaten from that bakery (going by my maths) and immediately seek help? Makes no sense.

Sorry, I don't see you getting any further with this than a heartfelt apology from the owner of the bakery.
 
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I'm glad you're OK.

Your posts states that you ate the flapjack in question. Peanuts have a VERY distinctive taste and, to be honest, smell too. It's the fact that you say you ate it that really puzzles me. It would seem the bakery gave you the wrong cake by mistake, however if you have a serious allergy like that I would suggest it's your responsibility to double check everything you eat before you eat it.

You also wrote "......considering I could be dead right now....". Well you're not. Perhaps be thankful for that rather than look around for monetary gain.
 
The only chance you have is if there is no sign up saying may contain traces of nuts up in the shop.

If they have that sign up, then you have no chance. If they don't then they haven't warned you there may be traces of peanut.

I don't think they have to draw attention to it, it just has to be there.

There are a load of keyboard warriers in this thread.

How many people buy the same thing day after day, week after week, year after year and check everytime what is in there?

Do you really expect him to ask every single time does this item contain nuts??? For 15 years the answer was no. If the person behind the counter thought they had given him a normal flapjack, the answer would still probably be no.

The bottom line is I don't think you will get anywhere, but hopefully you will raise the issue that sometimes when you start selling an extra product there is more than just sticking it on the shelf.

Are the flapjacks made there or are they bought in? If they are made there, there could be traces of peanut in everything that uses the same equipment.
 
If you want financial compensation for your loss, I'll provide it.

Given it only appears to be petrol and parking costs for your visit to A&E, it shouldn't amount to more than a tenner :shrug:

Outside of that, I'm not sure what it is you are thinking of suing for?
 
it take me hours to do my shopping because i check everything i buy. for myself and one of my children. we carry epipens (they have new funky ones now too).

But saying that it sounds to me if the OP didn't know he couldn't have peanuts or he would have been carrying his pen (he is a man so maybe not). but you have to go off to the hospital after using the pen anyway.

I don't know about the law but at least the owner is meeting with you, it may go along way in helping others not suffer.
 
ACW said:
I guess it's the same as me going into a bar to buy a ginger beer, only to find halfway through it has a decomposed snail in it.

I guess I'd have no case...

...guess I should have specified I didn't want a snail in the ginger beer when I bought it.
Click to expand...

Donoghue won her case........
 
Dale_d3100 said:
There are a load of keyboard warriers in this thread.

How many people buy the same thing day after day, week after week, year after year and check everytime what is in there?
Do you really expect him to ask every single time does this item contain nuts??? .
Click to expand...

Frankly yes. If you have this kind of allergy trust me, you check and RE-CHECK every damn thing you buy...especially things like this which do not have individual packaging. It's his body, his health issue, and he has to take responsibility for it
 
Firstly - I am glad you are OK. After suffering another type of reaction I know these "sudden" things are not nice.

However, I am slightly puzzled in that you have had the same flap-jack for 15 years from the same place and had no reaction in that time. On all the products that I have read there is something along the lines of "no nuts used in the production of this item but made in a factory that uses nuts, therefore cannot guarantee that this item is nut-free" - the bakery that you have used must make something that has nuts in/on it - plus the fact that they have changed it means that they would have to change the name also so you would not have been buying the same one as you have done for the past 15 years. Peanut oil is now used in lots of products so surprising that you have not had a reaction until now.

Like it has been said - if they already have a sign up then I don't know what more can be done - you can tell I am not a solicitor :D
 
20 years ago this wouldn't be questioned. It just shows how the "compensation culture" has taken grip.

To the OP, I'm glad you are non the worse for your experience but I disagree with your apparent intention to seek compensation.
 
You're asking outright for advice on suing. Does this mean that you don't feel that you can get some form of resolution through speaking to the owner? What do you want to achieve, compensation for loss of earnings as a result of the trip to A&E, if so then fair do's. However, perhaps requesting that the owner arranges some staff training when new products arrive and improved signage would be an appropriate resolution.
 
MartynK said:
Donoghue won her case........
Click to expand...

That was my exact point. I was being sarcastic!

While its not an identical scenario I can't help but feel there is some loose similarities.

I think some duty of care is owed. If I gave 100 people peanut flapjack without telling them it had nuts in then I think it's more than likely a couple of them would be allergic. It's like me being a doctor and recycling needles as most of them won't carry diseases.

He didn't ask for peanut flapjack.

While I don't think suing in this case is the answer, I feel fault lays completely with the bakery.
 
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ACW said:
That was my exact point. I was being sarcastic!

While its not an identical scenario I can't help but feel there is some loose similarities.

I think some duty of care is owed. If I gave 100 people peanut flapjack without telling them it had nuts in then I think it's more than likely a couple of them would be allergic. It's like me being a doctor and recycling needles as most of them won't carry diseases.

He didn't ask for peanut flapjack.

While I don't think suing in this case is the answer, I feel fault lays completely with the bakery.
Click to expand...

But he ate the flapjack. A single nibble, hell even a sniff, would tell you it contained peanuts. He's not saying it was "traces", he says there were peanuts throughout.
 
viv1969 said:
Frankly yes. If you have this kind of allergy trust me, you check and RE-CHECK every damn thing you buy...especially things like this which do not have individual packaging. It's his body, his health issue, and he has to take responsibility for it
Click to expand...

:plusone:

While I don't have an allergy, I am (probably/possibly) mildly type II diabetic and check everything for sugar content. I appreciate that home made baked goods may not have convenient labels on them but in that case, I'll ask - if the server doesn't know how much goes into the recipe, they'll often as not go and ask the baker. As has been said, peanuts are distinctive in flavour and smell, so the OP could/should have realised the flapjack contained them before eating it. For all we know, the peanut ones were on the shelf and labelled as such - if so, the OP should have spotted that and been aware that all the baked goods had been prepared in an atmosphere that could be nutty. Epipen! I knew there was a technical name for the things but it had gone (probably fell out...) Had forgotten or never knew that you and the kids had allergies, Terri - hope they (allergies - I know the kids aren't!) are under control, as I do for the OP now he knows about them.
 
viv1969 said:
But he ate the flapjack. A single nibble, hell even a sniff, would tell you it contained peanuts. He's not saying it was "traces", he says there were peanuts throughout.
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Viv I'll agree that my comments are more generic and apply to the containment of peanuts where it's not as noticeable.

If the OP knew they were allergic to peanuts then they would have smelt it as soon as they opened the bag, provided it was peanut butter smeared on it. So I have to agree its odd if you're not able to notice that when eating it.

However if it had small amounts of peanut or peanut butter in the mix it could be easier to miss. I guess it all depends on quantities.

Need more details from the OP really.

How much did he eat?

Why didn't he notice it?

Did he see peanut flapjack next to his flapjack in the bakery?
 
Nod yes all under control mine are fish, tea,wasp stings to name a few hence my pen is with me at all times. A has a dairy problem which is not an allergy as such but she has medicine based ones. (sorry op for nicking your thread)
 
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Adam, with a bad allergy, the slightest trace of a peanut in the air can cause major problems, hence a case (IIRC) of an airline being sued after a passenger had a bad reaction when another passenger opened a packet of nuts.
 
Just man up, no ones died. Genuine mistake by the sounds of it.

Life is too short.
 
Nod said:
Adam, with a bad allergy, the slightest trace of a peanut in the air can cause major problems, hence a case (IIRC) of an airline being sued after a passenger had a bad reaction when another passenger opened a packet of nuts.
Click to expand...

I'm not arguing over how serious the OPs allergy is!
 
Glad you didn't suffer any truly ill effects, number one priority is you are OK.

If you wish to sue, you must ask yourself first what you are suing for. Generally when sueing it is for compensation due to the negligence of an individual or company - but when it comes to the compensation part you need to be clear on what loss actually occurred.

Unfortunately, harsh as it sounds, 'Could be dead' doesn't really count for much when it comes to weighing up compensation. Yes, it would be pretty easy to prove that the company were negligent in not giving you what you asked for - although that would be mitigated completely if they have a notice regarding nuts up. Because if they have the sign, all that happened is you got given the wrong thing.

If you go down the sueing line for financial gain, these questions and far more difficult ones are what you will be expected to answer.

You are, however, doing the right thing. By meeting with the owner you can openly discuss the problem and ensure it doesn't happen again to anyone else. You then give the manager opportunity to make amends with you as a loyal customer while doing this ;)
 
ACW said:
?..People have died through food allergies at fault of the eatery and received less than a meeting with the owner.
Click to expand...

How does one hold a meeting with a corpse?
 
Sorry completely disagree with the op, it wasn't a mistake on behalf of the shop. If he was told by a staff member that the item he bought was 100% nut free then maybe someone could be held accountable for a mistake.

If a nut allergy is as life threatening as this sounds, then you really should be careful as to what goes in your gob.

Twice a week for 15 years in would have thought the staff, and owner would know you personally.

The wordcis that mad, my 4 years old cannot take peanut butter sandwiches to school, because ONE boy in the entire school has an allergy to nuts, so the entire school has banned nuts.......as it happens my son took said sandwiches to school for 2 months before we were told.....

To the op, forget it and move on, you have learnt a lesson, ask about nuts in future.
 
I picked up a bag of peanuts the other week and it says on the packaging warning this product may contain peanuts or words to that affect
I had to laugh
 
Craig i understand your frustration at your son being able to have his sandwich... but put the shoe on the other foot.. say you found he was allergic to nuts too?? bet your the first in the q to get them banned.. sorry but i have been there done it and seen it.
i understand what you are saying but give a little consideration to the people that have to deal with these things.. sorry to go on. i could name some recent stuff that would make you pee your pants..
 
Personal responsibility seems to be missing these days.
It's not everyone elses job to check what goes in your mouth, it's yours.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it screams of what's wrong with society today...A "everyone should do everything with *me* in mind" culture.
 
Marcel said:
Personal responsibility seems to be missing these days.
It's not everyone elses job to check what goes in your mouth, it's yours.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it screams of what's wrong with society today...A "everyone should do everything with *me* in mind" culture.
Click to expand...

Does that apply to feet as well? :lol:
 
Marcel said:
Personal responsibility seems to be missing these days.
It's not everyone elses job to check what goes in your mouth, it's yours.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it screams of what's wrong with society today...A "everyone should do everything with *me* in mind" culture.
Click to expand...

Spot on. If only people would TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their own actions and stop trying to blame others.
 
I would have thought that any bakery is going to present a significant risk of there being nuts or traces of nuts present in the environment or whatever they sell.

You've done well to get this far without having a problem given the apparent seriousness of your allergy.

I think you stand no chance of pursuing a baker for supplying you a product with nuts or traces of nuts in (signs or no warning signs).
 
Threads like these make me want to leave the UK faster than I anticipate.
 
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