What Are Your Rights After An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant?

Last updated 20th January 2026. Allergic reactions can be very serious and life-threatening. When you go to a restaurant, you have a right to receive food free from any allergens you disclose. If the restaurant failed to provide proper allergen warnings after you fully disclosed your allergy, then you could be entitled to compensation. 

After an allergic reaction at a restaurant, your immediate rights involve seeking medical care, gathering evidence (receipts of your food order purchase, witness contact information, etc.), and contacting a solicitor to help you pursue a compensation claim for the physical, psychological, and financial consequences of your allergic reaction. 

Let UK Law help you take these first legal steps towards compensation. Contact an advisor today and we can have a free chat with you about your circumstances. You can then, if you wish, connect with a personal injury solicitor from our panel:

• Call 020 3870 4868.
• Fill out our Claim Online form. 
• Send a message in our on-screen live chat box. 

Services And Information

1. Can I Claim For An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant?
2. Common Types Of Allergies And Symptoms
3. Examples Of Claims For An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant
4. Allergic Reaction Settlement Examples
5. How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For An Allergic Reaction In A Restaurant?
6. Do You Handle Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant Claims On A No Win No Fee Basis?
7. How Can UK Law Help Me To Claim Against A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?
8. Useful Information On Your Rights After An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant?

Can I Claim For An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant?

Yes, you can claim for an allergic reaction at a restaurant if the restaurant failed in their duty to ensure that the food they gave you was safe for you to eat. 

If you can prove each of these criteria, you can connect with one of our solicitors to pursue personal injury compensation today:

1. Duty of care – the restaurant had a legal obligation, under the Food Safety Act 1990 and The Food Information Regulations 2014, to provide access to allergen information in writing. They can achieve this by providing a full allergen menu or a written notice that clearly explains how customers can obtain allergen information. 
2. Breach of duty – the restaurant failed to take necessary steps to provide you with allergen information, or served you food containing a known allergen. 
3. Causation – the breach of duty was the direct cause of your allergic reaction. 
4. Harm – you suffered harm (that’s medically recognised) as a result, such as brain damage from anaphylaxis. 

It is completely free to contact an advisor and check your allergic reaction claim eligibility. 

Common Types Of Allergies And Symptoms

If you have an allergic reaction at a restaurant, the consequences can be detrimental to your well-being. Examples of common food allergies that people suffer from include:

•  Cow’s milk
• Peanuts, peas, chickpeas and soybeans
• Eggs
• Nuts that come from trees (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews and pistachios)
• Wheat
• Shellfish (such as prawns, lobster and mussels)

There are certain tests that you can take to find out whether you have a food allergy. These include special diets, whereby you avoid eating certain foods and see if your symptoms go away, and blood tests. 

When an allergic reaction occurs, it is important to be able to recognise the signs and seek the appropriate treatment as soon as possible. Symptoms of allergic reactions include:

• An itchy/blocked nose or sneezing
• Feeling lightheaded or dizzy
• Swelling of the eyes, nose and face
• Feeling nauseous or being sick
• An itching sensation or hives
• Diarrhoea
• Stomach pain

You can contact our advisory team at any time if you would like to enquire about claiming compensation for an allergic reaction at a restaurant. If eligible, they may connect you to a solicitor from our expert panel. However, if you would simply like to make a general enquiry, there is no obligation to work with our panel afterwards.

Examples Of Claims For An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant

Examples of claims for an allergic reaction at a restaurant include failing to label allergens, cross-contamination, or not accommodating disclosed allergies.

Here are some specific, more in-depth examples:

• A diner tells a server that they have a severe nut allergy. The server denies that nuts are present, but the dish contains them, leading to anaphylaxis.
• A milk allergen from another dish contaminated a child’s meal, as the same utensils were used for multiple different dishes during preparation. This led to severe vomiting and stomach pain that lasted several weeks.
• The staff of a restaurant were not properly trained on handling allergy requests or protocols. So, the staff failed to ask the diners if they had any allergies (and there was no allergen information on the restaurant’s menu). This led to a diner having an allergic reaction, and they suffered long-term damage to their digestive system. 

If you believe that you have experienced a similar experience, please contact us today. If you have had an allergic reaction at a restaurant, and the restaurant is liable, we can help you today. 

Allergic Reaction Settlement Examples

Compensation in food allergy claims is determined by the harm that was caused to a person due to the allergic reaction.

Any compensation you claim for pain and suffering is known as general damages. The table below shows what your allergic reaction settlement could potentially look like. The figures shown are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines, which is used by legal professionals to help value claims. Note that the first entry in the table below is provided to show you how you could be compensated for multiple injuries plus related expenses and is not based on the Judicial College Guidelines.

Any compensation you claim for suffering from financial losses is known as special damages. For example, you could seek compensation for medical treatment costs, loss of income or any other losses that were caused by the injuries you suffered. Evidence, such as receipts, will be necessary.

If you would like to learn more about how to claim for an allergic reaction after eating food, or the compensation amount you could receive, please reach out to one of our advisers.

How Much Time Do I Have To Claim For An Allergic Reaction In An Restaurant?

If you’re considering claiming compensation after an allergic reaction at a restaurant, you may wonder how much time you have. We always recommend that you start a personal injury claim as soon as possible when you want to pursue one. This gives you the maximum chance of getting all available evidence and presenting the case to the defendant accurately, as it will be fresh in your mind.

Normally, the time limit for claiming against a restaurant for a food allergy is three years from the day the allergic reaction occurred. Three years may sound like a long time, but starting claims for a food allergy can be complex. Depending on the circumstances, it may take a while to gather sufficient evidence to prove that negligence from a restaurant caused a food allergy.

How the time limit could change

There are certain circumstances where the three-year time limit works differently. If someone under the age of 18 suffers an allergic reaction in a restaurant, then the time limit is temporarily frozen for them. The three-year time limit only begins when the potential claimant reaches their 18th birthday.

Therefore, you can not make a personal injury claim yourself if you are under the age of 18. However, a claim can be started by a chosen representative on behalf of someone else before they reach 18. This chosen representative is known as a litigation friend. A parent or guardian are examples of someone who can claim as a litigation friend.

Another way the three-year time limit for claiming may be frozen is if someone lacks the mental capacity to claim on their own behalf. In severe food allergy cases, the injured person may need time to recover before they can reasonably be expected to start a claim.

When they have sufficiently recovered, the time limit starts on the day that is determined to have happened. Alternatively, a litigation friend could start a claim on behalf of someone who has suffered a food allergy before they’ve regained their mental capacity to start it on their own.

Do You Handle Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant Claims On A No Win No Fee Basis?

If you contact our advisors about your potential claim for an allergic reaction at a restaurant, then they could review it and determine if you have a strong case. If you have a valid claim, they could connect you with one of the No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel.

The solicitors on our panel can support allergic reaction claims under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a type of No Win No Fee agreement. Some of the benefits this agreement brings include not needing to pay your solicitor either upfront or during the process of your claim for their legal services. Also, if your claim goes ahead but is unsuccessful, then you still won’t need to pay your solicitor for their work.

If your claim is successful, then your No Win No Fee solicitor usually takes a small percentage of the compensation awarded to you. This is commonly called a success fee.

To learn more about how claiming for an allergic reaction with a No Win No Fee solicitor works, please contact our advisors for free. To reach our team, you can:

• Call 020 3870 4868.
• Fill out our Claim Online form. 
• Send a message in our on-screen live chat box. 

How Can UK Law Help Me To Claim Against A Restaurant For An Allergic Reaction?

UK Law can help you claim if you have suffered an allergic reaction at a restaurant by taking care of all of the complicated legal work for you while you just focus on recovering from the harm you suffered. This includes:

• Negotiating compensation on your behalf, ensuring that the settlement value is as high as possible based on your circumstances. 
• Collecting witness statements, copies of your medical records, receipts of your food purchase, and other evidence that helps prove your claim. 
• Talking to the negligent restaurant on your behalf. 
• Keeping you regularly updated on the case, explaining any legal terminology you come across along the way. 
• Offering legal representation if court proceedings are needed (which is very unlikely and uncommon in personal injury claims, so you shouldn’t have to worry about this).

So, to make the allergic reaction at a restaurant claims process as simple as possible for you, please have a chat with us at any time. 

Useful Information On Your Rights After An Allergic Reaction At A Restaurant?

Looking for more information on common food allergies and related laws for restaurants? The resources below provide more useful details on these subject matters.

NHS Guide to food allergies

This NHS page provides detailed insight into food allergies. You can learn all you need to know about the causes, symptoms and treatments for this condition.

Food Standards Agency’s Guide to 14 Allergens

This PDF guide created by the Food Standards Agency details the 14 major allergens. These major allergens must be clearly indicated to customers if they are present in the food and drink which they sell. The guide lists examples of popular foods and drinks which often have each major allergen.

How To Make Food Allergy Claims

Another of our guides on making food allergy claims

Slip, Trip and Fall Claims

If you’ve tripped over in a restaurant, this guide will help.

Other Useful Guides

• Holiday Accident Claims Guide – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?

Thank you for reading our guide on your rights if you have an allergic reaction at a restaurant.