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Gastroenteritis can have a serious impact on everyday life, particularly when severe stomach cramps, sickness and diarrhoea leave you unable to work or carry out normal activities while you recover. At Advice, our specialist solicitors help people pursue gastroenteritis compensation after illnesses caused by contaminated food and water, as well as other hygiene failures. With experienced No Win No Fee solicitors, nothing to pay upfront for their work, over £100 million secured in compensation and thousands of clients supported, we can provide clear guidance when you are unsure what to do next.
A gastroenteritis compensation claim could be made when a business or organisation responsible for food safety failed to meet the required standards and you became ill as a result. This could include food that was contaminated through poor hygiene or served without being cooked properly. Compensation can account for the pain and disruption caused by the illness alongside financial losses such as lost earnings. Our solicitors can identify who may be responsible and obtain medical and other supporting evidence to build your claim.
Advice’s personal injury specialists can manage the claims process on your behalf, assess how the illness affected your health and finances, and negotiate with the responsible organisation or its insurer. Eligible claims can be handled on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning you will generally only pay your solicitor if the claim succeeds. Throughout your claim, we will keep you informed and provide practical legal support so you understand what is happening and what comes next.
Reach out to our dedicated advisors to find out more about claiming in your circumstances. Our team is available 24/7 via the contact details provided here:
- Call on 0161 509 2856.
- Contact us online today.
- Start a live chat now.
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Browse This Page
- What Is Gastroenteritis?
- What Can Cause Gastroenteritis?
- Can I Claim Compensation For Gastroenteritis?
- Who Could Be Responsible For A Gastroenteritis Infection?
- Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims During A Package Holiday
- What Complications Could Gastroenteritis Cause?
- How Much Compensation For Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims?
- What Is The Process For Making A Gastroenteritis Claim?
- Claim Compensation For Gastroenteritis With Advice’s Solicitors
- More Information
What Is Gastroenteritis?
Gastroenteritis is an infection of the stomach and intestines that causes inflammation and disrupts the normal function of your digestive system. It can be caused by viruses, bacteria or parasites, including through consuming contaminated food or water.
Foodborne gastroenteritis can develop when harmful bacteria enter food because appropriate hygiene standards have not been followed, including when food is being prepared or stored. In the context of a gastroenteritis compensation claim, establishing what caused the infection and where the contaminated food came from can therefore be an important part of investigating responsibility.
Common Symptoms Of Gastroenteritis
Common symptoms of gastroenteritis include diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps. These symptoms can develop quickly and cause significant discomfort while your body responds to the infection.
The severity and duration of gastroenteritis can vary according to the cause of the infection and your individual circumstances. While some infections resolve within a relatively short period, persistent symptoms can affect your ability to eat normally or manage everyday activities, such as going to work.
When Could Gastroenteritis Become Serious?
Gastroenteritis can become serious when the infection causes severe or persistent symptoms, complications or requires medical treatment. Repeated vomiting or diarrhoea can cause dehydration, for example, while some bacterial infections can result in more significant illness requiring hospital treatment.
Certain people can also be more vulnerable to serious complications, including those with a weakened immune system. If your symptoms are severe, continue to worsen or you are concerned about your health, you should seek medical advice.
The seriousness and duration of your illness can also be relevant to a gastroenteritis compensation claim. Medical evidence can help Advice’s solicitors understand how the infection affected you, what treatment you required and whether you experienced any continuing symptoms or complications.
What Can Cause Gastroenteritis?
Gastroenteritis can be caused by viruses, bacteria or parasites that infect the stomach and intestines. Salmonella poisoning, E. coli and other bacteria can spread through contaminated food or water, as well as due to inadequate hygiene practices.
For gastroenteritis compensation claims, the cause of the infection is particularly important. Whether you became ill due to inadequate food safety, a contaminated water supply or other failure of hygiene, our solicitors will carefully examine your individual circumstances and determine the likely cause.
Contaminated Food And DrinkContaminated food and drink can cause gastroenteritis when harmful bacteria or other infectious organisms are consumed. What you consumed, when symptoms developed and whether others became ill can help our solicitors investigate the source. | Poor Food Preparation And StoragePoor preparation or storage can allow harmful bacteria to survive or multiply. Undercooked meat, for example, can retain bacteria that adequate cooking would destroy. Our solicitors can examine whether appropriate food safety procedures were followed. |
Inadequate Hygiene PracticesPoor hygiene can allow harmful microorganisms to contaminate food or preparation surfaces, including through cross-contamination. Advice’s solicitors can investigate whether inadequate hygiene contributed to your illness. | Contaminated Water SuppliesWater containing infectious microorganisms can cause gastroenteritis when consumed or used to prepare food. Our expert solicitors can investigate where the exposure occurred and which organisation may have been responsible. |
Person-To-Person TransmissionGastroenteritis can spread from an infected person through contaminated hands or surfaces. This does not automatically provide grounds for compensation. Advice’s solicitors would need to establish that an identifiable person, business or organisation failed to take appropriate precautions and caused the infection. | |
You can find out more about claiming in your particular circumstances by talking to our dedicated advisors today.
Can I Claim Compensation For Gastroenteritis?
You can claim compensation for gastroenteritis if a business or organisation failed to maintain appropriate safety standards, which caused you to contract an infection and suffer gastroenteritis, and your claim is brought within the applicable time limit. Those responsible for providing food or water for consumption must take appropriate precautions to protect people from avoidable contamination.
For a gastroenteritis compensation claim to proceed, the following must be established:
- The required safety standards were not met. The responsible business or organisation failed to take appropriate precautions to prevent exposure to contaminated food or water. In a food poisoning claim, this could involve inadequate hygiene during preparation or failing to store food safely.
- The failure caused you to contract gastroenteritis. There must be a connection between the identified safety failure and your illness. The failure must have exposed you to contaminated food or water, causing you to contract the infection responsible for your gastroenteritis.
- Your claim is brought within the applicable time limit. Gastroenteritis compensation claims are subject to legal limitation periods. The deadline that applies can depend on the circumstances of your case, particularly where the infection was contracted abroad.
Advice’s solicitors can assess whether these requirements are satisfied and explain whether you have grounds to pursue a public liability or food safety claim for gastroenteritis compensation. You do not need to determine the precise source of the contamination or establish responsibility yourself before contacting us for advice.
Who Could Be Responsible For A Gastroenteritis Infection?
Restaurants and hospitality businesses, as well as employers, care providers and companies involved in supplying food could be responsible for a gastroenteritis infection if their failure to maintain appropriate safety standards caused you to become ill. Responsibility depends on how the infection occurred and which business or organisation was responsible for preventing the exposure.
Advice’s solicitors can investigate the circumstances surrounding your illness to identify where responsibility lies. This can involve examining how food was prepared or supplied, the hygiene standards that applied and any available evidence connecting your gastroenteritis to a particular source.
Restaurants, Pubs And Takeaways
Restaurants, pubs and takeaways are responsible for preparing and serving food safely. A gastroenteritis infection could result when harmful bacteria survive because food was not cooked properly or contamination occurred during preparation.
Our personal injury specialists can investigate the circumstances in which the food was prepared and consider whether failures by the food business caused your illness.
Hotels And Holiday Providers
Hotels can be responsible for gastroenteritis caused by unsafe food or inadequate hygiene within services they provide. Where you contracted gastroenteritis during a package holiday, responsibility can also involve the tour operator depending on how the holiday was booked and which services formed part of the package.
Advice’s solicitors can examine your booking arrangements alongside the circumstances of the infection to determine which organisation the claim should be pursued against.
Employers And Workplace Caterers
Employers and workplace catering providers can be responsible when food supplied at work causes gastroenteritis because appropriate safety standards were not followed. Responsibility will depend on who provided the catering service and how the contamination occurred.
Our solicitors can establish which organisation controlled the relevant food service and investigate whether its preparation or handling practices exposed you to infection.
Schools, Nurseries And Care Homes
Schools, nurseries and care homes have responsibilities for protecting the people in their care from avoidable exposure to gastroenteritis. This includes maintaining appropriate standards when providing food and taking effective infection control measures when illness is present.
Failures can be particularly serious in settings where an infection can spread quickly or where vulnerable people are at greater risk of complications. Our expert solicitors can investigate what precautions were taken and whether inadequate standards contributed to the infection.
Food Manufacturers And Retailers
Food manufacturers and retailers can be responsible when contaminated food enters the supply chain and causes gastroenteritis. Contamination can occur before food reaches a restaurant or your home, meaning responsibility does not necessarily rest with the business that ultimately served or sold it to you.
Advice’s personal injury specialists can investigate where contamination occurred and identify the business responsible. Establishing this part of the supply chain can be particularly important where a contaminated product affects multiple consumers.
Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims During A Package Holiday
You could pursue a gastroenteritis compensation claim after becoming ill during a package holiday if failures in the services provided as part of your booking exposed you to contaminated food, unsafe water or another avoidable source of infection. Holiday gastroenteritis claims can involve additional considerations because the illness occurred abroad, including how the trip was booked and which organisation was responsible for the service that caused the infection.
Advice’s solicitors can review your booking arrangements alongside the circumstances surrounding your illness. This allows us to determine whether a claim can be pursued against a UK package holiday provider or whether a different route applies.
Claims Against UK Package Holiday Providers
A claim against a UK package holiday provider can be possible when you contracted gastroenteritis because a travel service included within your package was not provided with reasonable care and skill. Under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, organisers can be responsible for the performance of travel services included in a package, including where those services are provided by businesses abroad.
Our personal injury compensation specialists can examine what formed part of your package and investigate whether the circumstances of your illness connect it to one of those services. This can allow a claim to be pursued in the UK rather than requiring you to deal directly with an overseas hotel or other supplier.
Gastroenteritis At An All-Inclusive Hotel
Gastroenteritis at an all-inclusive hotel can form the basis of a compensation claim when food, drink or other services included within your holiday exposed you to an avoidable infection. Because meals are often provided as part of the booking, establishing when and where you ate can help our solicitors investigate whether the hotel was the likely source of your illness.
We can also consider information about the onset of your symptoms and whether other guests reported similar illness. Taken alongside medical and holiday evidence, this can help establish whether your gastroenteritis was connected to conditions at the hotel.
Claims After Booking Travel Independently
Claims after booking travel independently can still be possible, but the route to compensation differs from a claim involving a UK package holiday provider. If you booked your accommodation and other travel services separately, responsibility for your gastroenteritis may rest directly with the overseas business whose actions caused the infection.
The applicable law, time limits and procedure can depend on the country in which you became ill. Advice’s solicitors can assess how your trip was arranged and where the infection occurred before explaining whether we can assist with your claim and which legal route applies.
What Complications Could Gastroenteritis Cause?
Gastroenteritis can cause complications when the infection is severe, persists for longer or has a greater effect on your digestive system and overall health. While many infections resolve without lasting harm, more serious cases can require medical treatment and have effects that continue beyond the initial illness.
Dehydration can develop when repeated vomiting or diarrhoea causes your body to lose more fluid than you can replace. In severe cases, this can require hospital treatment, particularly where you are more vulnerable because of a weakened immune system.
Some infections can also leave longer-term digestive problems after the acute gastroenteritis has passed. This can include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which can cause continuing changes in bowel function, abdominal discomfort and disruption to everyday life.
Where gastroenteritis causes complications that extend your recovery or leave you with ongoing symptoms, these effects can influence how much gastroenteritis compensation you may receive. Advice’s solicitors can ensure that both the initial illness and any longer-term health problems linked to it are reflected when your claim is valued.
How Much Compensation For Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims?
How much compensation for gastroenteritis compensation claims will vary depending on the amount of pain and suffering a person experienced, along with their financial losses (if any). You could claim between £50,770 and £69,360 for the most serious harm to your digestive system. This figure was taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a publication that sets out guideline compensation brackets for a range of injuries and types of harm. Solicitors can use these brackets alongside relevant medical evidence to help determine a compensation figure for the claim.
When suing for gastroenteritis compensation, there are 2 relevant heads of loss; the first is general damages, which covers payments for the actual harm sustained, while the second, special damages, covers financial losses. We’ll look at special damages later in the section, but you can see some more JCG figures, not including the first bullet point, here.
Compensation Amounts
We would like to emphasise that this information has been included for guidance only.
- Multiple very serious injuries with financial losses such as a loss of earnings, medical expenses and travel costs. – Up to £150,000 or over
- Digestive System – Non-Traumatic (b)(i) Severe toxicosis causing pain and vomiting requiring hospital admission. – £50,770 to £69,360
- Digestive System – Non-Traumatic (b)(ii) Development of colitis but manageable with diet changes. – In the region of £31,230
- Digestive System – Non-Traumatic (b)(iii) Serious but temporary food poisoning. – £12,600 to £25,370
- Digestive System – Non-Traumatic (b)(iv) Food poisoning and allergies causing cramps and alteration of bowel functions. – £5,220 to £12,600
- Digestive System – Non-Traumatic (b)(v) Varying degrees of pain, cramps and diarrhoea for some days or weeks. – £1,200 to £5,220
Can Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims Include Special Damages?
Yes, gastroenteritis compensation claims can include special damages for financial losses you incurred as a direct result of the illness. These damages aim to restore the financial position you would have been in had you not contracted gastroenteritis, so Advice’s solicitors will identify losses connected to your illness and establish their value using appropriate evidence.
One of the clearest consequences can be an impact on your earnings. If gastroenteritis left you unable to work, our solicitors can compare your normal income with what you received during your absence, using payslips and employment records to calculate the shortfall. We can also assess additional expenditure caused by your illness and establish why those costs were necessary before including supported amounts within the claim. This may include:
- Prescription and treatment costs if you needed medication or further medical care because your symptoms continued.
- Travel expenses for medical appointments where you needed to attend your GP, hospital or another healthcare provider during your recovery.
- Additional food costs if ongoing digestive symptoms meant you had to follow a restricted diet or buy suitable alternatives.
- Care or household assistance if the severity of your illness meant you temporarily needed help with everyday tasks.
Accurate evidence allows our personal injury specialists to calculate the financial impact of your gastroenteritis rather than relying on estimates. Where serious complications create future losses, we can investigate these alongside the costs you have already incurred so that both are properly considered. Speak with Advice today to discuss how gastroenteritis has affected your finances and find out what losses could form part of your compensation claim.
What Is The Process For Making A Gastroenteritis Claim?
The process for making a gastroenteritis claim involves protecting your health, documenting the suspected source of the infection and gathering evidence that connects your illness to avoidable safety failures. Taking these steps can also give Advice’s solicitors a clearer picture of when you became ill, how the infection occurred and what impact it has had on you.
You do not need to complete every step or gather all the evidence yourself before speaking with us. Our personal injury specialists can identify gaps in the available information and help obtain further evidence as the claim develops.
Seek Medical Attention And Establish Your Diagnosis
Your health should come first, particularly if you have severe symptoms, signs of dehydration or an illness that is not improving. Seeking medical advice also creates a professional record of your symptoms, diagnosis and any treatment you receive.
These medical records can later help our solicitors establish when your gastroenteritis developed and understand its severity. Where further medical evidence is required, we can arrange an independent assessment to consider any continuing effects.
Record What You Ate And Where The Exposure Occurred
Information recorded while events are still fresh can be particularly useful when investigating food poisoning and gastroenteritis claims. Keep details of where and when you ate, what you consumed and when your symptoms began.
Where appropriate, retaining photographs or proof of the relevant purchase can provide further context. Advice’s solicitors can use this information to investigate the suspected source rather than expecting you to determine exactly how the contamination occurred.
Report The Illness To The Appropriate Organisation
Creating an official record can provide important evidence that the suspected source was notified about your illness. Depending on where you contracted gastroenteritis, this could involve reporting your concerns to the restaurant, hotel or other organisation involved.
Where food poisoning is suspected, a report to the relevant local authority environmental health team can also lead to an investigation. Our solicitors can assess any resulting records and determine how they support your claim.
Keep Track Of Your Recovery And Financial Impact
The consequences of gastroenteritis can continue after the most acute symptoms have passed. Keeping a simple record of your recovery can help show how long your symptoms lasted and whether they continued to interfere with work or everyday activities.
You should also retain evidence of financial losses connected to the illness, such as lost earnings where you were unable to work. Advice’s solicitors can review this information and identify which losses can be included when calculating your compensation.
Speak To A Personal Injury Specialist
Getting specialist advice can help establish whether the circumstances surrounding your infection provide reasonable grounds for a gastroenteritis compensation claim. You do not need to identify the responsible organisation or understand what evidence is needed before talking to the team at Advice.
Our personal injury specialists can assess the information you have, investigate how the infection occurred and explain the next steps. We can also obtain additional evidence and manage the claim on your behalf if we are able to proceed.
Confirm The Claim Is Started Within The Time Limit
Checking the applicable time limit early is an important part of making a gastroenteritis claim. Under the Limitation Act 1980, a personal injury claim must be started within 3 years of the incident date.
Different rules and exceptions can affect this period, particularly where the person who became ill was a child or lacked the mental capacity to start proceedings themselves. Claims involving gastroenteritis contracted abroad can also be subject to different deadlines.
Claim Compensation For Gastroenteritis With Advice’s Solicitors
Advice’s solicitors can help you claim compensation for gastroenteritis by taking responsibility for progressing your case and working towards a settlement that reflects the impact of your illness. From dealing with the organisations involved to advising you on important decisions, our role is to make the legal process easier to manage while providing specialist support throughout.
Why Choose Advice For Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims
Choosing Advice for a gastroenteritis compensation claim gives you access to personal injury specialists who can manage the legal and strategic aspects of your case while keeping you informed in plain English.
Once your claim is underway, our solicitors can:
- Gather evidence about the source of the gastroenteritis. Where relevant, our solicitors can obtain records such as hygiene documentation, incident reports or inspection material that may help establish how the infection occurred.
- Deal with the organisation responsible for your illness. Our solicitors can handle correspondence with the business or other party involved and respond to any dispute about how the gastroenteritis was caused.
- Value the effect of the gastroenteritis on your life. We can use medical evidence to assess how severe the illness was and how long your symptoms lasted, then include supported financial losses such as lost earnings or treatment-related expenses.
- Assess settlement offers and negotiate where necessary. If compensation is offered, we can compare the amount with the evidence supporting your claim and continue negotiations if the proposed settlement does not properly reflect the harm caused.
- Manage the legal process while you recover. We can progress the claim, deal with procedural requirements and explain any important developments that require a decision from you.
Advice has supported thousands of clients and helped secure more than £100 million in compensation. Contact our team to discuss your gastroenteritis compensation claim and find out how our solicitors could support you.
No Win No Fee Gastroenteritis Compensation Claims With Our Solicitors
Our solicitors can handle eligible gastroenteritis compensation claims on a No Win No Fee basis through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means you can access specialist legal representation without paying your solicitor’s service fees upfront, reducing the financial risk of starting a claim.
If your claim succeeds, the solicitor deducts a success fee from your compensation. The success fee is legally capped at 25% under The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013, and the terms and costs will be explained to you before you agree to proceed. If your claim does not succeed, you will not pay the solicitor’s success fee. There also aren’t any solicitor service fees to pay as the claim moves through the processes.
Contact Advice
Reach out to our dedicated advisors to find out more about claiming in your circumstances. Our team is available 24/7 via the contact details provided here:
- Call the team on 0161 509 2856.
- Contact us online today.
- Start a live chat now.
More Information
See more of our personal injury claims guides here:
- Read our guide on allergic reaction claims and find out when you could be owed compensation.
- Find out more about making a holiday accident claim if you developed gastroenteritis during your trip.
- Learn more about claiming for food poisoning with this case study.
These external resources provide additional guidance we hope is useful to you:
- The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the regulator for food safety across the UK (excluding Scotland).
- Read the NHS guidance on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) on their website.
- You could be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if gastroenteritis has caused you to be off work. Learn more here.
Thank you for reading our guide to claiming gastroenteritis compensation.
