I got food poisoning in a Pizza Hut restaurant and I have been contacted by an insurance company and offered compensation. Should I accept the settlement?
It is a good sign that an insurance company is willing to settle your case and pay you compensation for food poisoning in Pizza Hut restaurant; however we advise you carefully consider the offer as it may be far lower than your full entitlement to damages for your illness.
Insurance companies are keen to limit losses by paying the minimum possible awards of compensation for food poisoning from a restaurant, and one tactic commonly employed to this effect is termed third party capture.
When food poisoning victims are contacted directly by an insurer and are offered a lump sum as compensation for food poisoning from a restaurant it is rarely appropriate and never for the victims full entitlement to damages. Since a successful claim for food poisoning in Pizza Hut restaurant would see the insurance company liable to pay the legal bill of the claimant in addition to the full entitlement to compensation, losses can be limited by employing this tactic.
For this reason it is usually advisable to reject an offer to settle the case and instead to make a Pizza Hut food poisoning claim for the full entitlement to compensation. You are under no obligation to accept an insurer’s first offer and are within your rights to pursue a more appropriate amount of compensation by making a bacterial food poisoning injury claim; it is after all only fair that you receive your full entitlement to food poisoning compensation from Pizza Hut for an illness that was caused by negligence of the restaurant manager.
However, you should not make the decision to accept or reject the settlement of food poisoning compensation from Pizza Hut until you have spoken with a personal injury lawyer. You should explain your symptoms and what your doctor has told you and should explain the offer that you have received and what the insurance company has told you.
Although you may be able to get a higher settlement by making a Pizza Hut food poisoning claim, it may not be worth your while to do so if your case does not stand a high probability of being successful. If the offer of compensation for an illness from Pizza Hut is reasonable and there is little to gain from making a claim a lawyer will advise that you accept the offer.