Chiquito Food Allergic Reaction Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation For An Allergic Reaction After Eating Chiquito

How Much Could I Claim For A Food Allergy In A Chiquito’s Restaurant?

If you’ve suffered an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito, you may assume that it was an unfortunate accident. Despite the inconvenience and uncomfortable symptoms, you may assume that there’s nothing you could have done to prevent it. But if you have attempted to prevent an allergic reaction after eating a Chiquito dish—either by asking for an ingredient to be left out of your meal or by ordering a dish that is not listed on the menu as containing an allergen—you may be able to claim compensation if you go on to suffer harm.

This allergy claims guide explains all you may need to know if you’re looking to pursue compensation for an allergic reaction.

We explain the types of allergic reactions you might suffer, along with their symptoms and how they could be treated, along with the responsibilities that Chiquito’s has towards its customers with allergies.

We also give advice as to the benefits of using a personal injury lawyer to make a claim if the Chiquito allergy advice you were given by the staff was incorrect, your dish was subject to cross-contamination, or you were served food that contained an allergen you’d asked to be left out of your food, triggering a reaction.

If you would like further advice on your specific case, or you’d like to be connected with a personal injury solicitor from our panel that could help you make a claim, call the Legal Helpline team at any time on 0161 696 9685 for free advice and support.

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A Guide To Claiming For A Food Allergy In Chiquito’s

If you know you have a food allergy, whether you have an allergy to Mexican food in general or you are allergic to common allergens such as nuts, milk or shellfish, you might have to be careful what you order when eating out.

You may take steps to protect yourself from an allergic reaction after eating Chiquito food by carefully checking the allergen information on the menu, so you could order something that is safe for you to eat.

Allergic reaction after eating Chiquito food compensation claims guideHowever, if it can be shown that the Chiquito menu was incorrect, or the advice that the server gives you about allergens in dishes the restaurant serves is inaccurate, you could still suffer an allergic reaction. A reaction could also happen if your food is subject to cross-contamination. And you could also suffer a reaction if you’ve asked for an item to be left out of your dish and staff have ignored your request. Such cases could lead to personal injury claims.

This is because restaurants have a duty of care towards their customers. If they breach this duty of care, and a customer is harmed, this could leave them liable to pay compensation for the injuries or illness a customer suffers. A customer could also recoup expenses they’ve incurred due to their allergic reaction, such as loss of earnings and medical and travel costs, to name a few.

In the sections below, we offer information and advice for those who have suffered an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito. You’ll find insight into how compensation claims are calculated, along with the legislation that surrounds restaurants’ responsibilities to provide allergen information. We also provide advice and support to help you connect with a solicitor who could begin a claim for compensation on your behalf.

Remember, if you have any queries, please get in touch.

What Are Food Allergy Illnesses?

A food allergy illness happens when you have a reaction to something you’ve consumed that your body mistakenly perceives as a threat to you. The resulting symptoms of an allergic reaction are caused by the body’s immune system response to the threat.

There are different reactions that people could have to allergens. An IgE-mediated response occurs when the body’s immune system produces a protein called immunoglobulin E.

A Non-IgE-mediated response still involves an immune system reaction but does not produce immunoglobulin E.

Some people might suffer symptoms of both kinds of reactions, while others might suffer just one or the other.

  • A non-IgE-allergic reaction tends to come on much more slowly than IgE-mediated reactions. It could take hours or days for symptoms to become noticeable. Signs you might be suffering a non-IgE reaction could include vomiting (with no diarrhoea), constipation, cramping and eczema-type skin rashes, with dry, cracked and red skin.
  • An IgE-mediated reaction could include symptoms such as feeling faint or dizzy, experiencing a swollen mouth, throat or swelling of the face or body, feeling or being sick, having difficulty swallowing, developing hives or hay fever symptoms, and wheezing.

In some cases, allergic reactions could be considered life-threatening. Symptoms of anaphylaxis, which could be classed as a medical emergency requiring urgent treatment include confusion and anxiety, a rapid heart rate, collapsing, and swelling in the throat, as well as some of the IgE-mediated symptoms above.

What Treatment Is Appropriate For Food Allergies?

Treatment for symptoms of a Mexican food allergy would depend largely on the type of reaction you’d experienced and how severe it was. While some allergic reactions require little to no intervention, others require treatment with antihistamines, steroids and, in severe cases, adrenaline might be required.

What Is A Chiquito’s Allergy Menu?

If you believe that you may have an allergy to Mexican food, you may be allergic to just some of the ingredients on the menu. For example, if you have an allergy to ingredients found in a Chiquito dessert, you could be allergic to milk, which is contained in some Mexican dishes.

If you worry that you might suffer an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito because you are allergic to certain ingredients, you could ask your server for foods you would be able to consume safely.

Or, you could ask for a specific menu, such as a gluten-free menu. Alternatively, you could ask whether allergens are included on the standard Chiquito menu so you can tell what contains the ingredients you react to.

How Often Do People Have Allergies To Foods?

According to food.gov.uk, 2 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with a food allergy. 600,000 people (which equates to 1 in 100) have coeliac disease. It has also been reported that more people are hospitalised due to hypersensitivities to foods in the UK (65%) than they are with foodborne diseases.

Thankfully though, the number of allergy deaths per year is relatively low (an average of 10 deaths per year). However, Allergy UK has reported that between the years of 1992 and 2012, hospital admissions for anaphylaxis rose by a staggering 615%.

I Asked Not To Be Served A Potential Allergen

To avoid having an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito, you might wish to inform the server of your allergies prior to ordering your food. This way they could tell you what is safe to eat.

Or, you might carefully check the Chiquito menu to see what allergens are included in the dishes you’d like to order. If you see a dish that you’d like, but it contains an allergen, you might ask the server for that dish but request that it is prepared without the allergen you react to. However, there’s no obligation on the part of a restaurant to comply with your request.

Some suggestions for amendments that could be asked for include:

  • No wheat
  • No cheese
  • No eggs
  • No nuts
  • No tomatoes
  • No fish
  • No oats
  • No milk

If the restaurant cannot comply with such a request, they should let you know, so you could choose something else to order. If they accept your request, you could assume that the meal you ordered would come without the allergen you’ve asked to be left out.

If you go on to suffer a reaction, you could be entitled to compensation. Get in touch to learn more.

What Should I Do If Served An Ingredient I Said I Was Allergic To?

If you have made a request for your meal to be amended so that you did not consume a specific allergen, and your request was accepted but ignored, you could suffer an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito.

This could be considered negligence by the restaurant, as you had specifically requested for your food to come without that allergen. This may mean you could be eligible to claim compensation.

Claims could be made if a restaurant has caused you to have an allergic reaction because they have accepted your request but ignored it for things like:

  • Wheat
  • Cheese
  • Eggs
  • Nuts
  • Tomatoes
  • Fish
  • Oats
  • Milk

If you can prove that you had an allergic reaction to a Chiquito dish because your request was accepted and ignored, why not call us for advice and support. We could connect you with a solicitor from our panel who could help you claim compensation.

Negligent Food Preparation Practices Exposing People To Allergens

Negligent food preparation practices could cause you to be exposed to allergens. This could happen in a number of different ways. If, for example, the same utensils were used on different ingredients, this could cause foods to be contaminated with allergens that were not supposed to be within certain dishes.

In addition to this, negligence in carefully checking orders could lead to the wrong ingredients being used while preparing a dish.

These are not the only ways in which a restaurant could breach its duty of care towards you by exposing you to allergens. A restaurant has a responsibility to inform you upon request what allergens are contained in their dishes. They should also provide you with allergen information in writing informing you of the presence of 14 common allergens if they are present in the dishes that the restaurant prepares. If lack of warning leads you to suffer an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito, we could assess your case without charge, and let you know whether you could be eligible to claim compensation.

How Diners Are Protected When At A Restaurant

There are laws in place that protect restaurant customers from suffering harm due to mis-sold or defective foods, or those that are not as described/advertised. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that sellers could be held responsible for damage, personal injury or loss caused by defective products or those that aren’t as described.

Examples could include incidents where a restaurant:

  • Sells you food in a negligent manner, for example, if you have warned them of allergies and they knowingly sell you foods containing allergens
  • Fails to warn you of specific allergens, in writing, that are contained in their dishes
  • Cross-contaminates your food with an allergen you’ve asked for them to leave out

Restaurants who do any of the above could be deemed liable for an allergic reaction you suffer due to their actions/negligence.

How To Claim If You Did Not Say You Had An Allergy

If you haven’t told the serving staff in the restaurant that you were allergic to certain ingredients, and you suffer an allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito, you might believe that you wouldn’t be able to make a claim for compensation.

However, this may not be the case. If the restaurant has not advised you about the presence of the 14 specified allergens in their dishes in writing, you may still be able to claim. This is because, by law, restaurants must advise customers on their menu, on a separate allergy list, or on their website if foods contain certain common allergens.

Exposure Caused By A Lack Of Information On Allergens

If you have been exposed to any of the allergens that restaurants are legally obligated to provide you information on because they failed to do so, the restaurant could be held liable for the resulting allergic reaction. Allergens you must be informed of are:

  • Mustard
  • Celery
  • Crustaceans
  • Sulphites/Sulphur dioxide
  • Cereals with gluten contained within
  • Soybeans
  • Eggs
  • Sesame
  • Lupin
  • Milk
  • Nuts
  • Molluscs
  • Fish
  • Peanuts

If you think you could have an allergic reaction claim due to a restaurant’s failure to warn you of the presence of allergens in their foods, we could help ascertain whether this is the case. We could also connect you with a lawyer from our panel to begin your claim for you.

Foods That Most Commonly Cause Allergic Reactions

The Institute of Food Science and Technology has reported that there are 8 main causes of allergic reactions from foods. These include;

  • Soy allergies
  • Peanut allergies
  • Wheat allergies
  • Cow’s milk allergies
  • Tree nut allergies
  • Fish allergies
  • Shellfish allergies
  • Egg allergies

However, there are lots of other allergies you could suffer from. If you believe you could be allergic to some types of food, you could access local allergy services to benefit from testing and advice on how to manage your allergy. Allergy testing could pick up many other types of allergies, such as:

  • Sulphur dioxide allergies
  • Dairy allergies
  • Mustard allergies
  • Fruit allergies
  • Lupin allergies
  • Seafood allergies
  • Celery allergies
  • Cereal allergies
  • Gluten allergies

Chiquito Menu And Allergy Information

Whether you’re looking to try a new dish or you’re ordering something you’ve had before, here, we provide an up to date list of the items on the Chiquito main menu.

Even if you are ordering a dish from a restaurant that you’ve had before, it could be worth checking the allergen menu. This way, you could see if a new allergen is listed for the dish you are ordering, so you could avoid suffering a food allergy.

Starters

  • Salsa and guacamole nachos
  • Garlic tortilla
  • Garlic tortilla with cheese
  • BBQ Southern fried chicken strips
  • Hot habanero chicken strips
  • Jalapeno poppers
  • Chicken, chorizo and sweetcorn quesadilla bites
  • Roasted veg and chilli beetroot quesadilla bites

Mains

  • Classic beef burger
  • BBQ chicken wrap
  • Chicken fajita salad
  • Five bean and veg roasted chilli
  • Bean and red chilli burger
  • Spicy chicken burrito
  • Veggie 5 bean chilli burrito
  • Chicken enchilada
  • Chilli, beetroot and feta cheese chopped n topped salad
  • Banana blossom burger
  • Classic beef chilli
  • Southern fried chicken
  • Beef chilli burrito
  • Pulled pork burrito

Desserts

  • Trio of ice cream
  • Trio of sorbet
  • Churros
  • Golden nugget cheesecake

As previously mentioned, these are the items listed on the main menu. It may be possible for you to request a gluten-free menu if you have a gluten allergy, or you might ask for the Chiquito vegan menu if you have a dairy allergy.

Chiquito Food Allergy Compensation Calculator

Below, we have listed some of the potential payout brackets for injuries that could be sustained in an allergic reaction after eating at Chiquito’s. We chose not to include a personal injury claims calculator within this guide, as such tools cannot accurately provide payout figures, simply because they are unable to assess all of the facts surrounding your case.

The figures in the table have been taken from the Judicial College Guidelines. This is a publication that solicitors and courts could use to come to an appropriate value for a variety of personal injury claims.

If you believe you have suffered other injuries that do not appear here, we’d be happy to advise you of the over the phone.

Illness/InjuryRemarksJCG Compensation Bracket
Illness or damage due to a non-traumatic injury (e.g. poisoning)Toxicosis (severe) – causing serious levels of acute pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. Hospital admission may be needed for several days or weeks in some cases. There could be a significant long-term impact on a claimant’s ability to enjoy a social life as normal, as well as their ability to work.£36,060 to £49,270
Illness or damage due to a non-traumatic injury (e.g. poisoning)Short-lived serious symptoms of food poisoning, including diarrhoea and vomiting lasting between two and four weeks. A claimant’s ability to enjoy food could continue for a few years.£8,950 to £18,020
Illness or damage due to a non-traumatic injury (e.g. poisoning)Symptoms of food poisoning such as stomach cramps, fatigue and alerted function of the bowel. Hospital admission might be required but a complete recovery would be achievable over 1-2 years.£3,710 to £8,950
Illness or damage due to a non-traumatic injury (e.g. poisoning)Cramps, disabling pain and diarrhoea. This could last for days or weeks at varying levels.£860 to £3,710

What Other Damages Could I Claim?

Along with claiming compensation for the symptoms you’ve experienced from your allergic reaction after eating at Chiquito’s, you could also claim compensation for the expenses your allergic reaction has caused you to suffer. This could include:

  • Loss of wages – if you’ve needed time off work because of your food allergy reaction to Chiquito foods, you may have lost out on some or all of your income. Allergy claims could help you recoup these losses.
  • Care costs – if a severe reaction has led to you requiring care in your own home, your care costs could be compensated for.
  • Medical and travel expenses – if you’ve incurred any costs for prescriptions, counselling, or costs for travel to see a doctor or your lawyer, such costs could be included within your claim.

To claim for any expenses, you’d have to be able to provide evidence for them. Things like bank statements, receipts and payslips could help with this, so it might be a good idea to keep them in a safe place until your lawyer requests them.

No Win No Fee Claims For A Food Allergy In Chiquito’s

Would you like to use a personal injury lawyer to help you with your claim but aren’t sure whether you’d have the funds upfront to pay legal fees? If so, you may be happy to learn that with No Win No Claims you wouldn’t pay any legal fees to begin your claim or throughout its duration.

No Win No Fee claims usually work as follows:

  • Your lawyer would send you a Conditional Fee Agreement (another term for a No Win No Fee agreement), which you would be expected to sign and return before they could begin work on your personal injury claim. The agreement sets out a small success fee that you’d have to pay your lawyer if they successfully obtained a compensation payout for you. The success fee usually represents a small proportion of your compensation and is legally capped.
  • Your lawyer would begin to build a case against the liable party. They could help gather evidence, as well as negotiating a settlement directly with the liable party.
  • Once your claim had concluded successfully and compensation had been paid out, the success fee would be deducted, and you’d benefit from the rest of the payout.

You may wonder what would happen if a lawyer failed to get you a compensation payout for your allergic reaction after eating in Chiquito. If this situation arises, you would not pay their success fee, nor would you be required to cover any costs that the solicitor incurred while they were building your claim.

Contact Our Helpful Team

Would you like to learn more about making a claim for an allergic reaction after eating at Chiquito? Or do you believe you have a claim and would like to be put in touch with a personal injury solicitor that could help you make a No Win No Fee claim? Whatever you need, we’re here to help. You can reach us by:

Quick References

Allergen Guidance For Food Businesses – This guide on food.gov.uk gives advice on what food businesses need to know about allergens.

Managing Allergies In The Real World – This publication, created by Imperial College of London, gives some insight into the management of allergies.

Anaphylaxis – What To Do – Here, Allergy UK give insight into how to deal with anaphylaxis.

More On Allergic Reaction Claims – You can find out more about making a claim for an allergic reaction here.

Claiming For An Allergic Reaction To Wheat – This wheat allergy claims guide could be of use if you’ve suffered a wheat allergic reaction.

Claiming For A Nut Allergy – This guide covers what action you could take if you’ve suffered a nut allergy and someone else was responsible.

Thank you for reading our guide to making a claim following an allergic reaction after eating at Chiquito.