Expert legal advice is essential for those who are injured or become ill on holiday because of negligence on the part of someone who owed them a duty of care. This was highlighted in a recent case in which a woman who developed a phobia of travelling after suffering a violent bout of food poisoning abroad secured a five-figure settlement from travel operator TUI.
The incident took place at the Palm Wings resort in Altinkum, Turkey. The woman, her partner and daughter all developed a gastric illness after eating at the resort. As a result of the illness, which caused vomiting and diarrhoea, the woman was confined to her hotel room for two days. She later developed a fear of foreign travel because of her ordeal.
Evidence provided by the woman included a food hygiene report produced two weeks before she and her family visited the resort. This flagged a range of issues including cooked and uncooked meats being stored together, chilled food being kept beyond its use-by date and refrigerators not being at a low enough temperature.
Despite the hotel arguing that these issues had been ironed out, a second hygiene audit carried out later that year showed that they had not been addressed.
TUI argued, during the hearing at Prestatyn County Court, that it could not be proven that the woman's illness had been directly caused by eating the resort's food.
However, the judge found that there was clear evidence of a link. She ordered TUI to pay the woman £5,400 in compensation, which included the cost of counselling she had needed to undergo as a result of her experience. TUI was also ordered to pay costs of £16,000.