Find a food poisoning lawyer in Austin: where to report and what to save

If a restaurant in Austin or Travis County made you sick, Austin Public Health takes the complaint online or at 512-972-5555. Ask your doctor for a stool or blood test, because proof of the germ matters. A food poisoning suit generally has a 2-year limit in Texas.

Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (36)

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Road map of Austin and Travis County, the area covered by Austin Public Health restaurant illness reports
Austin restaurant illness reports: 512-972-5555 or the online form. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Who do you report food poisoning to in Austin?

Austin Public Health, if the restaurant is in Austin or Travis County. Use the online complaint form or call 512-972-5555. Staff examine each report and investigate if needed.

If the restaurant is somewhere else in Texas, the complaint goes to the health department that covers that place. Your doctor and the lab may also report your case. Under Texas law, providers, hospitals, labs and schools must report nearly 80 diseases to health officials.

You can also look up a restaurant. The city posts inspection scores from the last 3 years. A low score does not prove your illness came from that kitchen, but it is worth printing.

What proof helps a food poisoning claim in Austin?

  1. Get seen and tested. Your provider can test a stool or blood sample.
  2. List each meal from the week before you got sick, and each Austin restaurant or store behind it.
  3. Keep the food, wrapper or label in the original packaging.
  4. Save receipts, card statements and photos of the menu or order screen.
  5. Report to Austin Public Health, so your case can be matched with others.

Some lab results go to PulseNet, a network that matches the DNA fingerprint of a germ across cases. That is how outbreaks get linked to a single source.

How long after eating does food poisoning start?

GermUsual startNote
Staph toxin30 minutes to 8 hoursFast, so the meal is easy to name
Norovirus12 to 48 hoursSpreads easily in a group
Salmonella6 hours to 6 daysA wide window, so keep the food diary
Campylobacter2 to 5 daysOften blamed on the wrong meal
ListeriaUsually within 2 weeksSerious in pregnancy

That is why the last thing you ate is usually not the cause. See a doctor right away for bloody diarrhea, fever over 102°F, frequent vomiting, dehydration or diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days. HUS, a kidney complication of E. coli, is a medical emergency, so go to the emergency room.

Where do you go for care and records in Austin?

For a severe case, go to an emergency room. Dell Seton is the region's Level I trauma center, and the Level II choice is St. David's South Austin Medical Center. If you are uninsured, Central Health is Travis County's hospital district, and its CommUnityCare clinics served 148,234 patients in 2025.

Ask for your records. For Ascension Seton records, send the hospital's form by mail or bring it in, and St. David's South Austin has an online portal. After you ask, the provider has 30 days to act.

Who can you sue after getting sick from food in Austin?

The company that made, processed or assembled the food. Texas law counts producers and processors as manufacturers. A store or restaurant that only sold it is usually not liable, unless an exception applies.

Raw oysters are listed as a known-risk product, but that rule does not cover a manufacturing defect. If you share the blame, Texas bars you from recovery above 50 percent fault. A food claim is usually made against the business or its insurer.

What if the food came from a City of Austin event or facility?

Then a government may be involved, and the notice is short. Austin's charter sets 45 days for a claim letter, sent to P.O. Box 1546 or [email protected]. The state rule is 6 months, but the city says missing its notice excuses it from liability.

Questions

How long do I have to sue for food poisoning in Austin?

Generally 2 years in Texas. A claim against the City of Austin needs its letter within 45 days.

Do I need to keep the leftover food?

Yes, if you can. Store or freeze it in its original packaging or label.

Is a positive test enough to win?

No. Contamination can happen at any step in the food chain, so a result is one piece of proof.

What if my child got sick?

The child's time to sue does not count while under 18. Report the illness the same way.

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Sources (36)

  1. City of Austin, Report foodborne illness, checked 2026-11-09. “Fill out our foodborne illness complaint form or call 512-972-5555.”
  2. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “They can take a sample of your poop or blood and test it.”
  3. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues”
  4. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “The food that made you sick is usually not the last food you ate.”
  5. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Store or freeze food with the original packaging or label.”
  6. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Write down everything you remember eating in the week before you got sick.”
  7. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.003, checked 2026-11-09. “A seller that did not manufacture a product is not liable for harm caused to the claimant by that product unless the claimant proves”
  8. City of Austin, Report foodborne illness, checked 2026-11-09. “Austin Public Health staff will examine your report and investigate if needed.”
  9. Texas DSHS, checked 2026-11-09. “please use the Texas Retail Food Establishments Jurisdiction Interactive Map to contact the appropriate health department”
  10. Austin Public Health, Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance, checked 2026-11-09. “required to report cases of nearly 80 different diseases and health conditions to local and state health officials”
  11. Texas DSHS, checked 2026-11-09. “Health care providers, hospitals, laboratories, schools, and others are required to report patients who are suspected of having a notifiable condition”
  12. City of Austin Open Data, Food Establishment Inspection Scores, checked 2026-11-09. “Provides food establishment inspection scores performed within the last 3 years.”
  13. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Some test results (without information that identifies you) are sent to PulseNet.”
  14. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “diarrhea 30 minutes to 8 hours”
  15. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “body aches are also possible 12 to 48 hours”
  16. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection”
  17. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “fever, stomach cramps 2 to 5 days”
  18. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Symptoms of invasive illness usually start within 2 weeks after eating food contaminated with Listeria.”
  19. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Severe food poisoning can cause bloody diarrhea, diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days, fever over 102°F, frequent vomiting, and dehydration.”
  20. CDC, checked 2026-11-09. “Call the doctor or go to the emergency room immediately.”
  21. Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “DELL SETON MEDICAL CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 10/1/2028 O AUSTIN 78701”
  22. Texas DSHS, Texas Trauma Facilities, checked 2026-11-08. “ST DAVIDS SOUTH AUSTIN MEDICAL CENTER 10/1/2028 O AUSTIN 78704”
  23. Central Health, About, checked 2026-11-09. “As the county’s taxpayer-funded hospital district”
  24. CommUnityCare, About, checked 2026-11-09. “In 2025, CommUnityCare served 148,234 individual patients”
  25. Ascension Seton, Authorization for Release of Information, checked 2026-11-08. “Mail in or present your request in person at the applicable site location(s).”
  26. St. David's South Austin, Medical Records, checked 2026-11-08. “We offer several ways to request your medical records”
  27. 45 CFR 164.524, checked 2026-11-09. “no later than 30 days after receipt of the request”
  28. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.001, checked 2026-11-09. “a designer, formulator, constructor, rebuilder, fabricator, producer, compounder, processor, or assembler of any product”
  29. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.004, checked 2026-11-09. “(B) an oyster.”
  30. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 82.004, checked 2026-11-09. “does not include an action based on manufacturing defect or breach of an express warranty”
  31. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 33.001, checked 2026-11-09. “a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent”
  32. City of Austin, File a Claim, checked 2026-11-08. “You must send this letter within 45 days of the incident.”
  33. City of Austin, File a Claim, checked 2026-11-08. “City of Austin Law Department - Claims P.O. Box 1546 Austin, TX 78767-1546”
  34. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101, checked 2026-11-08. “not later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred”
  35. City of Austin, Staff charter recommendations with charter text (May 2026), checked 2026-11-08. “shall exonerate, excuse and exempt the city from any liability whatsoever”
  36. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.001, checked 2026-11-09. “the time of the disability is not included in a limitations period”

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