How To Make An Allergic Reaction Claim Against Hard Rock Café

Hard Rock Cafe Food Allergy And Illness Compensation Claims

Are you wondering if you could make a justifiable allergic reaction claim against Hard Rock Café if you have evidence of their neglect? No matter whether you have a nut allergy, a wheat allergy or any other type of allergy, if you can prove that you’ve been harmed as a result of a restaurant breaching its duty of care to you as a customer, you could be eligible for compensation. We have created this guide to show you how allergic reactions in restaurants could happen, and how you could make a claim.

Allergic Reaction Claim Against Hard Rock Café

Hard Rock Cafe allergy compensation claims guide

In the sections below, we look at how the courts and lawyers could calculate compensation amounts for allergic reactions caused by a restaurant’s negligence. We look at the different types of damages you could claim, and how a solicitor could help you without taking any money in legal fees until your compensation comes through.

Also, we look at some facts surrounding allergy sufferers and answer some frequently asked questions about restaurants’ legal obligations to provide allergy information. If you would like free legal advice, or to get help with starting a claim our advisors are here to help. You can reach our team on 0161 696 9685 at any time.

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A Guide To Allergic Reaction Claims Against Hard Rock Café

Have you suffered the symptoms of an allergic reaction after eating or drinking at the Hard Rock Café? If so, you could be eligible to make an allergic reaction claim if you can prove they are responsible for your reaction.

Restaurants have a responsibility to communicate allergen information to customers. After all, if their negligence leads to a customer suffering an allergic reaction, not only could this damage their reputation, but it could also lead to personal injury claims being made against them.

This guide explains the responsibilities restaurants have, and how affected customers could take action against a restaurant if their negligence leads to an allergic reaction. We also explain how to go about starting a claim, and how our advisors could help.

Allergic Reaction Claim Against Hard Rock Cafe: Compensation Calculator

Compensation payouts are case-specific. The lawyers and courts involved in cases must assess the evidence before coming to a figure that could be appropriate for any personal injury claim. Therefore, it may not be possible for you to obtain an accurate figure from a tool such as a personal injury claims calculator. Such a tool could not assess the specific facts and evidence surrounding our case.

How To Evidence Your Injuries?

During your claim, you would need to visit an independent medical professional. They would need to review any appropriate medical notes, examine you and ask you about your injuries. They would use the information they’ve collected to write a medical report. This medical report could be used to determine the severity of your injuries, which could significantly influence your compensation payout.

To give you some idea of appropriate compensation amounts for such injuries, we’ve taken some figures from the Judicial College Guidelines. This publication could be used by solicitors and courts to arrive at an appropriate value for your claim.

Type of Injury/Illness SufferedJudicial College Guidelines BracketNotes
Illness caused by a non-traumatic injury (iv)Up to £3,710Where there are varying level of diarrhoea, cramps and disabling pain. Symptoms would continue for days or weeks in some cases.
Illness caused by a non-traumatic injury (iii)£3,710 to £8,950Symptoms could cause significant discomfort and could include bowel function alteration, fatigue and stomach cramp. Hospital treatment might be required for days and symptoms might last a few weeks. However, the injured party would recover completely within 1-2 years.
Illness caused by a non-traumatic injury (ii)£8,950 to £18,020Short-lived yet serious poisoning symptoms, with the worst symptoms diminishing within 2-4 weeks. However, some disturbance of the function of the bowel, and an impact on the injured party’s enjoyment of food and sex life could last a few years.
Illness caused by a non-traumatic injury (i)£36,060 to £49,270Toxicosis cases deemed to be severe. Symptoms would include acute serious pain, fever and diarrhoea and this may require admission to hospital for days or even weeks. Continuing symptoms could affect the ability to work and the injured party’s enjoyment of life.
Mental Anguish£4,380 A fear of impending death, or a reduction in life expectancy.

If you’d like an estimate more specific to you, please get in touch with our personal injury claims team.

Special Damages For Personal Injury Claims

There are two types of damages that an allergic reaction claim could bring you. Depending on the specifics of your case, your payout could include general damages and special damages.

General Damages

These are the non-pecuniary damages you suffer. They relate to the suffering and pain you experience, as well as any loss of amenity. Examples of general damages payouts can be seen in the table in the above section.

Special Damages

These are costs and losses that have a ‘price tag’. They relate to financial costs associated with your injuries and can include different types of expenses, as we explain below.

Care Costs

Should you have needed care at home because of your injuries, you could include care costs in your personal injury claim.

Medical Expenses

While much of your care (if on the NHS) is likely to be free at the point of access, there are medical expenses you might encounter. You might have to pay prescription charges, or for counselling, for example. These are the sorts of costs you could include within your claim.

Travel Expenses

While you are undergoing treatment or assessment of your injuries, you might need to travel to medical appointments. You might also incur costs from travelling to meet with your lawyer. These are all costs you could include within your claim.

Income Loss

Depending on your contract, and how long you have to take off work to recover, you could lose out on income because of your injuries. You could include loss of income in your claim if this happens.

What Is An Allergic Reaction Claim Against Hard Rock Cafe?

Before we explain what could constitute an allergic reaction claim against Hard Rock Café, we should explain what a food allergy is.

What Is A Food Allergy?

An allergic reaction could happen if you consume a food item that contains something your body perceives as a threat. The resulting immune system’s response, where your body sends antibodies to respond to the threat, could cause symptoms of an allergic reaction. There are different types of immune system response you could experience, including:

IgE-mediated Reactions

These are the most common types of reaction to food. They usually produce symptoms seconds or minutes after consuming something you’re allergic to, including:

  • Itching and tingling in the mouth
  • Hives
  • Swelling in the mouth, face throat or body
  • Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
  • Having trouble swallowing
  • Shortness of breath/wheezing
  • Vomiting or nausea
  • Sneezing or itchy eyes (similar to hay fever symptoms)
  • Diarrhoea/abdominal pain

While some food allergy symptoms, such as a food allergy rash, may require treatment with antihistamine creams and anti-inflammatory medicines, others may require more invasive treatment.

Non-IgE-mediated Reactions

A Non-IgE-Mediated response could come on more slowly, even days after consuming an allergen. Symptoms could include:

  • Constipation
  • Vomiting
  • Cramps in the abdomen
  • Itchiness and redness of the skin
  • Atopic eczema

Anaphylaxis

This is a serious condition and is classed as a medical emergency as it could be life-threatening. Symptoms of anaphylaxis could include any of the IgE symptoms above, as well as feeling faint, collapsing, having a tight chest, having trouble breathing, a swollen tongue and having trouble swallowing.

No matter what type of allergic reaction you’ve had, if it was the restaurant’s fault, you could claim compensation. For free legal advice, or to get help starting a claim, simply call our team. We’d be happy to help you.

Allergy Warning And Labelling Legislation

Restaurants have a legal obligation to warn diners of allergens contained in their dishes. The allergen menu at the Hard Rock Café should contain warnings of 14 major allergens, which we list in a later section of this guide. According to food.gov.uk, restaurants could provide such information by:

  • Putting together full allergen information in an information pack, on a chalkboard or on a menu.
  • Writing a visible notice explaining where customers can find the allergen information for dishes served at the restaurant.

If a member of staff communicates allergen information verbally with a customer, they should be able to ensure it is accurate and consistent by backing it up with written information.

What Happens If Something Goes Wrong?

If a restaurant is negligent and a customer suffers an allergic reaction as a result, the restaurant could face legal action from the injured party. The local authority could also act if the restaurant fails to comply with allergen information regulations. If they ignore local authority advice, the restaurant could be served an improvement notice. Failure to act on the notice could lead to a penalty or even prosecution.

Negligence In Food Safety

The Food Safety Act 1990 protects restaurant customers from consuming food that could damage their health. Breaches in protecting your health could include:

  • The Hard Rock Café Allergy Menu for the UK being inaccurate, leading to an allergic reaction.
  • A staff member ignoring or failing to comply with a request for an allergen to be omitted and not telling you, leading to an allergic reaction.
  • You suffering an allergic reaction because your food is cross-contaminated with an allergen you’ve asked to be left out.

If you believe you might have a valid allergic reaction claim against the Hard Rock Café, or if you’re looking for free legal advice on your eligibility to claim, we could help you. One call to our knowledgeable team could give you all the information you need to get started with your claim.

The 14 Allergens Which You Could Ask To Be Removed From Your Order

As we mentioned, there are many allergens that must be communicated to customers dining in a restaurant if they’re present in the food being served. If you’ve consulted the Hard Rock Café menu for allergens, and you believe an allergen could be removed when preparing your dish, you may ask staff to do so. According to government guidance, the restaurant could attempt to do so if you ask. If they can’t, they should tell you. They’re under no obligation to comply with your request.

The list of the allergens you should be warned of in writing, on a restaurant’s website, the Hard Rock Café allergy menu or other printed materials is replicated below:

  1. Celery
  2. Cereals containing gluten
  3. Crustaceans
  4. Eggs
  5. Fish
  6. Lupin
  7. Milk
  8. Molluscs
  9. Mustard
  10. Nuts
  11. Peanuts
  12. Sesame seeds
  13. Soya
  14. Sulphur dioxide (sulphites)

What Are The Effects Of A Food Allergy?

We covered the types of effects that food allergies could cause in a previous section of this guide. Not only could food allergy symptoms lead to short term effects such as dizziness, feeling faint, and other symptoms, but an allergic reaction may lead you to be fearful of eating in restaurants again.

You may worry about whether staff will comply with your instruction for your food to be prepared without allergens in the future. This could be particularly the case if your allergic reaction was caused because the restaurant negligently ignored a request for items to be left out of your meal, such as:

  • Without Oats
  • No Cheese
  • Without Wheat
  • No Tomato
  • No Milk
  • Without Eggs
  • No Fish
  • Without Nuts

People with allergies should be able to enjoy a meal in a restaurant without fear that their food will cause them to suffer an allergic reaction. If you’ve suffered an allergic reaction and are looking for free legal advice to see if you could launch an allergic reaction claim, our advisors would be happy to help you.

I Did Not Tell The Restaurant I Have An Allergy, Could I Still Claim?

If you’re wondering what are the most common food allergies, the list below, while not exhaustive, could be useful. Common allergies could include:

  1. Cereal allergy
  2. Wheat allergy
  3. Fruit allergy
  4. Gluten allergy
  5. Dairy allergy
  6. Egg allergy
  7. Seafood allergy
  8. Shellfish allergy
  9. Milk allergy
  10. Soy allergy
  11. Nut allergy
  12. Lupin allergy
  13. Fish allergy
  14. Mustard allergy
  15. Sulphite or sulphur dioxide allergy

If you haven’t told the restaurant of your allergies, you might assume you would not have a valid allergic reaction claim against Hard Rock Café. However, this may not be the case. If you are allergic to any of the 14 allergens that a restaurant is legally obligated to inform you of, and the restaurant fails to inform you of their presence, or food is cross-contaminated, you could still claim compensation.

For example, you may find that you read the allergen information on the menu or went with the pre-emptive allergen advice of a server. You may have decided it wasn’t necessary to tell the staff of your condition because they’d forewarned you of allergens in your meal. If you then suffered an allergic reaction because the menu or server’s information was incorrect and can prove this was the case, you could claim.

If you think you could have a claim, even if you didn’t mention your allergies to the restaurant, please don’t hesitate to call us for free legal advice. We’d be happy to talk to you about your claim.

Food Allergy – Facts And Statistics

According to Allergy UK, allergies are the most common chronic diseases across Europe. Up to 20% of allergy sufferers in Europe have a debilitating allergic condition. The EAACI revealed in 2016 that the failure to treat allergies properly costs an estimated EUR 55 -151 billion per year.

In the UK, over 20% of the population suffer from an allergic condition. 44% of adults in Britain have at least one allergy, and numbers are on the rise. According to Allergy UK’s report, between 2008 to 2009 the number of afflicted adults grew by approximately 2 million.

When it comes to food allergies, approximately 1 to 10% of the population have some kind of hypersensitivity to foods. These are of particular concern in young children, as the incidence of food allergies in toddlers is thought to be higher (5 to 8%) than in the adult population (1 to 2%).

Check The Hard Rock Cafe Allergen Menu

You can find the Hard Rock Café allergen menu on their website. However, at the time of posting, the menu was current as of May 2019, and some dishes may have changed. Therefore, it would be best to check for an up-to-date Hard Rock Café allergy menu for the UK before you order. You could ask your server for an up-to-date list.

The allergen menu for the UK Hard Rock Café sites includes items such as:

Starters

  • Classic Nachos (with fajita beef, grilled chicken or guacamole)
  • The Jumbo Combo with Bruschetta
  • Tupelo Chicken Tenders
  • Wings (with Buffalo Wing Sauce or with Signature BBQ Sauce)
  • All-American Sliders
  • Whiskey Bacon Jam Sliders
  • Buffalo Sliders
  • Spinach & Artichoke Dip
  • One Night In Bangkok
  • Southwest Spring Roll
  • Caesar Salad (with grilled chicken, salmon or shrimp)
  • Cali Cobb Salad
  • Steak Salad
  • Beet Salad/Side

Flatbreads

  • Three Cheese Flatbread
  • Southwest Flatbread

Burgers

  • Legendary Burger, Fries and Steak Sauce
  • Big Cheeseburger, Fries and Chipotle Aioli
  • Double Cheeseburger, Fries and Chipotle Aioli
  • Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger, Fries and Barbecue Sauce
  • 24 Karat Gold Leaf Burger
  • Moving Mountains, Fries and Chipotle Aioli

Smokehouse

  • Hickory Smoked Barbecue Combo
  • Hickory Smoked Ribs
  • Pulled Pork Sandwich

Please note: This is not an exhaustive list.

No Win No Fee Allergic Reaction Claim Against Hard Rock Café

If you’ve never heard of them before, No Win No Fee claims could be something of interest to you. If you make an allergic reaction claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor, you would not have to pay them any legal fees upfront. You would only pay their legal fees in the event of a successful claim, too.

How Do No Win No Fee Claims Work?

To make a No Win No Fee personal injury claim, you’d need to sign a No Win No Fee Agreement. Your solicitor would send you this document before starting your claim. In it would be details of their success fee: a small percentage of your total payout. Success fees are legally capped, and only represent a small portion of your total settlement. You only pay them if your lawyer gets you compensation.

Once you sign and return the agreement, the lawyer can begin working on your claim. When they have negotiated a compensation settlement for you or helped you fight through the courts for compensation, they would deduct their success fee once your compensation comes through. The balance would be for your benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions About No Win No Fee Claims

One common question many claimants may have is ‘What happens in the event of an unsuccessful claim?’ If your claim ends without compensation, you don’t pay your lawyer’s success fee.

You don’t cover your lawyer’s costs that they incurred while pursuing your case either. For more answers to questions about No Win No Fee claims, why not get in touch with our team. Alternatively, you could read our detailed guide.

Talk To An Advisor

Can you prove you have a valid allergic reaction claim against Hard Rock Café? Or do you have some questions about your case and want to obtain free legal advice? Whatever you need, we’re here to help. We could talk to you about your claim, and we could connect you with a lawyer who could help you get the compensation your case deserves. All you need to do is:

  • Call our friendly team on 0161 696 9685
  • Complete the contact form and we’ll call you back
  • Use the live chat to message our team

Related Guides

Making Personal Injury Claims Against Restaurants: Here, you’ll find some general guidance on claiming against restaurants.

Food Poisoning Claims: You can find some information about how a personal injury solicitor helped with a food poisoning claim here.

Claiming For Children: You can find out here whether you could claim on behalf of a child for their injuries, for example.

Allergy Cases In The Courts: Details of some allergic reaction cases can be found here.

How To Treat Allergies: You can read about different allergy treatments here.

Children’s Allergies: If you’re parenting a child with nut allergies or other food allergies you can find out how to deal with them in this guide.

FAQs People Also Ask About Food Allergy Claims

Are Restaurants Responsible For Food Allergies?

In terms of providing accurate allergen information, restaurants are responsible by law to do so. They should ensure they provide certain allergen details in writing to customers. They should also give you accurate information on allergens when you ask them to. However, restaurant staff may not be able to tell you have allergies unless you tell them, so we would always advise you to inform a restaurant if you have nut allergies, dairy allergies or other types of food allergies.

Do Restaurants Have To Provide Allergen Information?

Restaurants are duty bound by law to provide allergen information on 14 specified allergens.

How Do Restaurants Cater For Allergies?

Restaurants could cater for allergies in different ways. They may have gluten-free bread for those with gluten allergies, and they could provide non-dairy alternatives to milk and cheese, for example. If you want to know how your local Hard Rock Café deals with customers with allergens, you should ask the specific restaurant you’re dining at before you order.

How Do Restaurants Deal With Food Allergies?

If you have an allergic reaction in a restaurant, you might expect to receive an apology from the restaurant if the reaction was their fault. However, a restaurant may not want to admit liability, so you might need to fight for compensation. A personal injury lawyer could help you to do so.

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