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Food poisoning can be nasty, whether it affects you for just one day or even longer. It's why businesses in the catering and hospitality industry have an obligation to ensure food is safe to eat.

Even short-lived instances of food poisoning can force you to take time off work, which may be distressing for you and result in lost income. Food poisoning can also have long-term effects, resulting in kidney damage or autoimmune diseases in rare instances. 

Whatever your reasons for wanting to pursue compensation for your food poisoning, you can contact us for a confidential chat today.

No Win No Fee Food Poisoning Claims

We take most of our food poisoning claims on a no win no fee basis. That means you won't have to pay anything if your claim doesn't succeed.

About Us

To help you get the outcome you deserve, we work with a nationwide panel of lawyers who specialise in helping people claim for incidents of food poisoning.

Your food poisoning claim calculator

Find out how much of a payout you could get if your food poisoning compensation claim is successful. 

Food poisoning is typically a bacterial issue. Some common forms of food poisoning include: 

  • Salmonella
  • E. coli 
  • Campylobacteriosis (campylobacter bacteria is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK)
  • Norovirus (a vomiting bug)

Nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps, fever and cold chills are all symptoms that may point to one of the above conditions. 


Claiming for food poisoning FAQs

If you ate food from a cafe, restaurant, fast food outlet or any other business and it gave you food poisoning, it's worth having a chat with us about making a claim

We may be able to help you prove the business was negligent and this led to you becoming ill. 

It's useful to collect as much evidence as you can while the incident is still fresh in your memory. For example, you could: 

  • Speak to other people who dined with you and see if they were also affected.
  • Keep any remains of the food you ate and freeze it.
  • Keep any receipts from when you bought the food.
  • Keep receipts of any expenses that resulted from the illness.
  • Take a food diary of everything else you ate for 24 hours afterwards, so we can rule out those as a possible cause.

A three-year period applies to most circumstances for making a claim, starting from the date of the incident or diagnosis.


Holiday food poisoning can be particularly frustrating. After spending your hard-earned money on a trip away, you don't want to spend any of it bedridden due to someone else's poor hygiene.

Sometimes food poisoning occurs abroad because an eating establishment left food out in a buffet area longer than they should have, prepared raw and cooked meat together, or washed fruit and veg in unsanitary water.  

If you get food poisoning overseas and have suspicions about what caused it, here are a few things you can do to strengthen your case:  

  • See a doctor as soon as you can, whether that's on holiday or after you get back home. See if you can give a stool sample to help prove the cause.
  • Write down the details about the food and drink you consumed, as well as how long it took for your symptoms to become evident and anything you ate between those times.
  • Take pictures of the hygiene standards at the place where you ate. 
  • With consent, get contact details from any fellow tourists who were also affected. 

Don't assume that just because you contracted food poisoning on holiday, you can't get compensation. You have nothing to lose by speaking to us about a holiday food poisoning claim and letting us give you our assessment. 


There are three ways you can get started.

  1. Use our food poisoning compensation calculator to see what your claim payout could be. You can then leave your details with us to get back in touch. 
  2. Call us on 0800 587 0344. Our lines are open 8am-9pm Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm on Saturdays, and 9:30am-5pm on Sundays.
  3. Request a call back and let us know when you would like us to reach out.

You can in certain cases. You may be able to claim on behalf of a child as a 'litigation friend', at any point until their 18th birthday. Once the child turns 18, they will have until their 21st birthday to make a food poisoning claim for themselves. 

You could also act as a litigation friend for someone who lacks the mental capacity to claim for themselves. There is no time limit for this, but if they regain their mental capacity then the three-year limit will start from that date.  


Initially, we'll decide if we think your claim has a chance of success. If we do, we'll offer to help you take it further. The claims process from here is generally as follows: 

  1. Your solicitor will make sure they have taken down all the important elements of your story. They may then ask for supporting evidence, such as photographs of the hygiene conditions, medical records and the contact details of any witnesses. 
  2. They will then contact the party you are filing a claim against and inform them of the proceedings. 
  3. The party will either accept blame or contest it. If they choose to contest, your solicitor will start negotiating. 
  4. If you win the food poisoning claim, you'll receive compensation and a pre-agreed cut will go to your solicitor. If you lose while protected by insurance, there shouldn't be anything for you to pay. 

If we think you could make a successful food poisoning claim and you agree to let us present your case, we'll proceed on a no win no fee basis. This means that you won't have to pay us any legal fees if the case is unsuccessful. If you win, an agreed percentage of your compensation will be deducted as a success fee.

When you make a no win no fee claim with us your personal injury lawyer will take out insurance on your behalf that will cover all your claim costs and expenses including medical report fees, court fees and any barrister fees; so long as you comply with their terms and conditions, you won't have to pay any costs upfront, and there are no hidden surprises.


First and foremost, we'll try to settle your claim without a court process being necessary. If it does go that far, your solicitor will take care of it and keep you updated about how it's going.


Why trust ClaimsPeople with your food poisoning claim?

Available 7 Days A Week

Our friendly advisors are available all week, including Bank Holidays.

Risk-Free No Win No Fee

We take most cases on a no win no fee basis so you don't have to pay a penny if you lose, so long as you have the appropriate insurance as would be organised with your solicitor, and comply with their terms and conditions. 

Food Poisoning Claims Experts

We choose solicitors to work with from a UK-wide, fully regulated panel of experts.

Fast Claim Assessment

We know that you don't want to wait around, so we won't delay in letting you know if we think you have a valid claim.

Use our food poisoning compensation calculator

Wondering how much compensation you can get for food poisoning in the UK? Use our calculator tool to see what your claim may be worth.

Speak to our lawyers about your food poisoning claim today

No one should have to endure food poisoning at the hands of a business that didn't take adequate hygiene precautions. If this happened to you, we want to help. 

Making a food poisoning claim can help you get back on track after what you've been through. Call us today or fill in our callback form for your free, no-obligation consultation.