Hayward, CA asked in Consumer Law and Personal Injury for California

Q: Can I sue Safeway grocery store for selling meat with maggots?

I bought a brisket from Safeway last week. I cooked it the next day and ate it for dinner. An hour or two later I felt something stuck in my tooth. It was a maggot. I checked the leftover brisket and discovered that there was a large quantity of them throughout the meat (cooked into he meat). The next day I had what can only be described as projectile diarrhea. I was sick all day and I doubt if I can ever eat meat again. I can hardly discuss it without vomiting

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2 Lawyer Answers
Dale S. Gribow
Dale S. Gribow
Answered
  • Palm Desert, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: need more info

you can always sue anyone for anything. The question is will you recover.

in part that depends on proof. Did you save the meat? take it back to the market and fill out a claim? do you have a copy of the receipt?

did you see a doctor? if you feel you can not eat meat again maybe you should see a psych to document all this.

William John Light
William John Light
Answered
  • Santa Ana, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: If the meat has maggots in it, you should preserve it for evidence. You should also contact the USDA (https://ccms.fsis.usda.gov/ECCF/) and the Health Dept. (http://www.acgov.org/aceh/food/complaint.htm)

Since you apparently did not seek medical attention, you do not appear to have a viable personal injury claim. Further, there is nothing in maggots which would cause diarrhea, so your story does not have the ring of truth to it. Maggots do eat rotten flesh, which could cause diarrhea, but it would seem that rotten flesh would have been apparent to you before consumption, as would live maggots squirming inside the meat. All in all, I would have to say that this sounds like creative writing.

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