A wife and mother-of- two, who is suffering from health problem after contracting food poisoning at a restaurant in Edinburgh has been awarded with £263,534 for the damages. However, the disgruntled woman said she was not happy with the six-figure sum as she would gladly "trade any money" just to get her previous healthy condition back.
Tracey Rae, 44 years old, told the jury at the Court of Session that she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome after eating a chicken liver and beetroot salad during a night out with her husband and friends in April 2009. She said they happily dined at that time at cotch Malt Whisky Society in Leith and felt the discomfort later that night.
Mrs Rae said she passed a blood sample after suffering from severe sweating, stomach cramps and nausea. After a series of tests, she was diagnosed with "post-infection irritable bowel syndrome" and was told by the gastroenterologist that the illness would be with her for life.
After the initial diagnoses, Mrs Rae, who is a part-time adult literacy tutor, said she lost her earnings after she decided to drop her hours of work due to the symptoms. She also exclaimed that she was "left with the pain and the embarrassing symptoms."
Tracey sued James Freeman, who was in charged of the catering at that time, for all the damages. And without any arguments, James admitted his liability.
After reviewing all of the evidences, Mrs. Rae was awarded with £263,000 on Tuesday, Jan.19. The said amount includes damages for the pain, suffering, loss of future earnings as well as employability. The court also ruled that she should receive not less than £30,000 for the food and dietary supplements.
However, even though Mrs Rae won the case, she appears to be dispirited about it. "The amount of money to me is really quite irrelevant because I'll never get back to what I was before," she told BBC. "I would trade any money to be how I was before so my family could have a normal life."
