THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5776 Issue XXXXII Mattos-Masei PAYING FOR POISON In the not-so-rare case of food poisoning, who pays who? By: HaRav Dovid Grossman, Rosh Bais HaVaad L'Inyonei Mishpat

Eli walked into Glatt Smart and ordered a large assortment of salads, dips, and kugels for Shabbos. After taking his packages, he began to walk out, when he was stopped by Mr. Perlman, the owner of the store. Mr. P. said to him, "Sir, please excuse me, but you forgot to pay." Eli replied emphatically, "Oh, I don't plan on paying. Last week, I bought chopped liver here, and my wife and I and everyone else who ate the liver became sick with food poisoning. Not only were my children home from school for a few days, but even worse, I could not go to work for several days and I lost four days’ worth of wages. That is aside from the medical bills we were swamped with. So first of all, I’d like a refund for last week’s chopped liver. But aside from that, I expect you to compensate for all of the losses and expenses incurred on account of this catastrophe. And that is why I'm going to be taking this week's order for free— for starters.”