Compensation for food poisoning on honeymoon
A holiday firm has paid out almost £300,000 compensation to a man who was struck down with a potentially fatal food poisoning while on honeymoon. Julian Hurley, aged 50, from Doncaster was celebrating his nuptials with his new wife Jayne […]
A holiday firm has paid out almost £300,000 compensation to a man who was struck down with a potentially fatal food poisoning while on honeymoon.
Julian Hurley, aged 50, from Doncaster was celebrating his nuptials with his new wife Jayne at an all-inclusive resort in Venezuela in August 2004 when he fell ill.
Mr Hurley became ill after eating undercooked food at the all-inclusive resort but was unable to seek medical attention while abroad. Upon his arrival back in the UK, Mr Horley was immediately admitted to Doncaster Royal Infirmary and was treated with intravenous drugs and antibiotics for a form of dysentery called shigella. He remained in hospital for five days.
As a result of the food poisoning he suffered while on honeymoon five years ago, Mr Hurley now suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Mr Hurley said of his experience: “When we went to the hotel restaurant I tried a variety of different dishes, which included cooked meats. The food was of an extremely poor standard, a lot of the dishes were undercooked, and some of them were almost cold.”
The type of food poisoning which Mr Hurley contracted, shigella, is acquired by drinking water contaminated with human faeces or by eating food washed with contaminated water.
Mr Hurley continued: “The impact that this hellish holiday has had on our lives has been devastating. I now struggle to walk long distances and find myself getting tired easily. I am still suffering from symptoms to this day and will do for the rest of my life, which had been very difficult to come to terms with. I also had to reduce the number of hours I could go to work and, to this day, I have not returned to my pre-holiday working pattern.”
“This has impacted on my relationship with my wife as, instead of me being the main breadwinner, she is. She now has to look after me, rather than the other way round.”
Mr Hurley has since received an out of court settlement from the travel company that organised the holiday. It is the responsibility of the tour operator to ensure that the hotels they send holidaymakers to, achieve and maintain certain standards of safety and hygiene.
A spokeswoman read as statement from First Choice Holidays, it said: “First Choice was very concerned to hear about Mr Hurley’s illness while staying at the Costa Caribe Beach Hotel in Margarita in August 2004. We would like to reassure our customers that their health and safety is of paramount importance. We closely monitor all the hotels to which we operate to ensure that the strictest health, safety, hygiene, and comfort levels our customers expect are maintained. First Choice can confirm that it has made an out of court settlement to Mr Hurley in respect of the illness and subsequent health problems which occurred following his stay at this property. Since this incident First Choice has ceased to operate to the destination of Margarita, and therefore no longer features this hotel in its product offering.”
If you have suffered food poisoning on holiday you may be able to make a claim for compensation. Our expert solicitors will be happy to advise you and pursue a claim for personal injury compensation through the travel agent, their insurers or the hotel or restaurant that was responsible for your food poisoning.