Public insurer ACC has announced it has accepted a claim made by a family whose members were recently hospitalised after eating wild boar.

ACC said it provided the family members with cover after medical evidence showed that the meat was infected with an unknown neurotoxin, which made the family sick.

“This evidence included the short time between when the family ate the meat and fell ill,” it said. “From our point of view, the medical evidence satisfies the requirements for cover. We’re now able to provide the support the family needs as they recover.”

ACC also provided some reminders on other possible claims. These include:

How does this differ from food poisoning?

• Food poisoning generally occurs when you eat something that contains bacteria. Once it’s in your gut, that bacteria can multiply and make you sick.
• Ingesting or inhaling bacteria is specifically excluded under ACC legislation. People who become ill from eating food containing bacteria, which then makes them sick, are not able to get ACC’s help.

What about the Hawke's Bay water contamination?

• The water was contaminated with bacteria which, once consumed, made many people sick with campylobacter. Because it was the ingestion of bacteria that made people ill, they were not eligible for cover.

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