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Found bug/roach in food while eating at restaurant, under TX law personal injury lawsuit due to making me sick

Asked over 3 years ago - Tyler, TX

I went to a fast food restaurant and there was a fried roach in my food and when I presented to the manager..all she could do was say eeww thats nasty, now I had taken a bite before I noticed it, I asked everyone that was at the table to verify what I had found, this made me sick and no one ate their food that was purchased.. I feel like this is was handled wrongfully by the company. What legal action can I take?

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Attorney answers (3)

Alan James Brinkmeier

Reputation Level 20

Answered over 2 years ago. Personal Injury Lawyer in Chicago, IL.

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You will need to prove damages to be successful. Disgust about a bug will not be enough to make a lawsuit worthwhile.

Write to the store and perhaps you will get some coupons and an apology.

Good luck to you.

God bless.

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Oscar Michelen

Reputation Level 15

Answered over 3 years ago. Personal Injury Lawyer in New York, NY.

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You would certainly be entitled to a refund of all of your purchases, but not much else. If you were to send a claim letter asking for dmages for emotional distress, etc., you might get the company to offer a "nuisance settlement" of between a few hundred to a few thousand dollars or so. Youmay wnat to look on the internet to see if this restaurant has been the subject of prior complaints and lawsuits. Fortunately, you did not ingest the insect or require any medical treatment of any kind. If you had then the damage amount might be sigificantly higher. I suggest you contact a qualified attorney in your area to see if they will take your case on. Most will do so on a contingency basis and not charge you unles they recover a settlement.

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Robert A. Kraft

Reputation Level 10

Answered over 3 years ago. Personal Injury Lawyer in Dallas, TX.

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The situation was certainly mishandled from a public relations standpoint. Pardon the pun, but it left a bad taste in your mouth for this restaurant, and I'm sure your friends feel the same way. The restaurant should have apologized and let everyone eat for free, or perhaps given everyone a gift certificate for a meal some other time.

Unfortunately, you probably shouldn't expect the restaurant to do much more than that for you. In Texas you can't file suit for what MIGHT HAVE happened. You can only recover for damages you actually did suffer, and Texas courts are very unfriendly to emotional distress claims. In other words, if you haven't suffered significant physical injuries, it's tough to make a financial recovery.

I think you will have a hard time finding a lawyer to take this case, but you do have the right to file suit yourself in small claims court. You can just go to the nearest Justice of the Peace court, and the clerks there will help you with the paperwork.

Good luck to you!

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