Visiting a restaurant is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. When you visit a restaurant, you do not expect to leave with less teeth than you came in with. If, for some reason, you have left a restaurant with a broken tooth, tooth damage or any other tooth injury then you may be entitled to compensation if it can be proven that the broken tooth was caused by the restaurant’s food.

When is the restaurant liable?

So, you have taken a bite into your delicious angus burger and for some reason there’s an uncomfortable crunching sound straight after. You go to check what was floating around your mouth and you realise that it’s part of your tooth. Surprisingly, these things actually happen, but, when they do, it’s unclear whether the restaurant is in any way liable for the tooth injury you have sustained.

For the most part, if your injury was caused by something that was not supposed to be in your food, then the restaurant is likely to be liable for your injuries. Although, it does also depend on the nature of the item found. If the object is completely foreign like a nail, paperclip, or screw, then you will have a very good case.

On the other hand, if the object is something like a bone, then this can make the liability questionable due to the object’s nature.

Furthermore, determining liability can also be an issue if there is no clear evidence into proving how or when the item was placed in the food. Generally, the liability will be placed on the restaurant as long as it can be proven to be the restaurant’s fault that the foreign item is in the food.

A very popular case surrounding the law on consumers and duty of care is Donoghue vs Stevenson 1932. In this case, a snail was found at the bottom of a bottle of ginger beer that Donoghue had purchased from Stevenson. This case set precedent that there is a duty of care owed to the consumers of product, especially food. This argument can be applied to restaurants in that they owe all their customers a duty of care to make sure no injuries are sustained from consuming their food.

How to make a Broken Tooth from Restaurant Food Claim

If you want to look at building a case for your personal injury claim, then our personal injury solicitors would be happy to provide free legal advice surrounding your situation. Before contacting us, there are some steps that can be taken in order to create a stronger case from day one.

Firstly, locating and producing clear evidence that shows liability. If possible, after the accident happens, it’s best to keep the object that caused your teeth to break to be used as evidence in the future. Not being able to produce the physical object can usually lead to a weaker case argument. The more evidence, the better chances of a higher amount of compensation as well.

You should also visit a dentist as soon as possible to prevent the injury from worsening. A dentist attendance report will also help to strengthen your case. If you are required to pay for your treatment, you will be able to recover these costs as part of your compensation if your case is successful.

How much compensation am I entitled to?

There are many different resources online that can help you calculate a compensation amount based on the facts of your case. These are not always accurate but provide a good insight. Compensation is usually calculated by the two types of damages caused as a result from the accident: General Damages and Special Damages.

General damages refers to the amount of compensation for your injuries; i.e. the amount of compensation that you will receive for the direct pain and suffering your accident caused. The compensation amount you will receive depends on the severity of the injury depending on the facts of the case.

Special damages, on the other hand, are known as out of pocket expenses. These are the additional financial losses you may have sustained because of the experience like:

–         Travel costs

–         Dental treatment and medication costs

–         Loss of earnings from work

–         Future loss of earnings

In order to value your case, you will be required to attend an appointment with a dental expert who will provide a detailed medical report on your injuries. Our injury lawyers will then use this report to provide you with a valuation of your injuries based on recent case law and the Judicial Court Guidelines.

Cases like these are most likely settled outside of the court. Insurance companies would prefer try to settle case without having added court fees and bad publicity for the restaurant if they lose the case.

How we can help with making a broken tooth from restaurant food claim

If you’re still left wondering whether you can make a claim due to a broken tooth from restaurant food or other tooth injury, then the answer simply is, it depends. As long as there is a clear reason that was not your fault then it’s likely that you can make a successful compensation claim.

However, the process can be difficult to go through alone- that is why we are here to help. Beacon Law is a firm that specialises in all types of personal injury claims. We focus on getting people who have unfortunately been involved in an accident that was not their fault the compensation they deserve.

Beacon law help guide claimants through all types of personal injury cases, such as road traffic accidents, slips, trips and falls, gym accidents, local authority negligence and food related incidents too.

Our legal professionals can be on hand to explain everything to you, as the legal jargon used can often be quite confusing. Furthermore, we can guide you through the claim process, alleviating any of the stress that may be caused otherwise.

If you have suffered an accident at work that was not your fault, please use our contact details to get in touch. We can be contacted at 0330 1332 857 or info@beaconlaw.co.uk.