Little Cameron Wahid Went Into Anaphylactic Shock After Being Given Dairy In Italian Restaurant

The family of a seven-year-old British boy who died from an anaphylactic allergic reaction after eating dairy produce in Italy, is campaigning with Allergy UK for better awareness for allergy sufferers.

According to Allergy UK’s website (www.allergyuk.org), 50 per cent of children in the UK now have some form of allergic reaction. The charity offers advice on the causes and risks of allergies; information on different types of allergies; advice for parents with a new baby; and what to do in the event that you are with a child who suffers an allergic reaction.

Cameron Wahid was on holiday with his family in October last year when he suffered a severe allergic reaction to dairy produce. Cameron died at Naples’ Santobono Hospital on October 30 2015, three days after going into cardiac and respiratory arrest in Ravello town square following a meal with his family at a nearby restaurant.

Subsequent investigations carried out at the Santobono hospital concluded that Cameron had consumed a food product that contained milk and/or its derivatives. Civil and criminal investigations are now underway to investigate whether Cameron’s allergic reaction and resultant death were caused by him eating pasta that he had been served in an Italian restaurant Following seizure of food products from the restaurant by Italian police, it was found that the ingredients used in Cameron’s meal did contain dairy traces.

Investigations are now focussed on whether these ingredients were the cause of Cameron’s death.

Cameron’s father, Riz Wahid, from East Grinstead in West Sussex, is working with Allergy UK as an Ambassador, as a result of Cameron’s death, in a bid to prevent other families from suffering a similar loss.

Riz, 37, says “We were so careful about letting everyone know about the severity of Cameron’s allergy because it was such a danger for him. We feel his death was avoidable and it has left us devastated. Our loss is something from which I feel we will never recover.

“I feel compelled to do everything I can, so that nobody else has to watch their child die as we did.”

Riz hopes that through his work with Allergy UK, he will raise awareness of how severe allergic reactions can occur and educate establishments on how to cater for severely allergic people, as well as ensuring that they have appropriate procedures in place to avoid similar incidents affecting other families.

Expert international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are investigating how Cameron was given a meal which allegedly contained dairy products, despite his parents, Cassandra and Riz, warning both holiday reps and restaurant staff that he was severely allergic to dairy products, and subsequently receiving assurances from waiting staff that the meal was safe for Cameron to eat.

Expert Opinion

Cheryl Palmer-Hughes, an expert international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, said: “The Wahid family has been through one of the worst experiences imaginable having seen Cameron die from a condition which they had always been careful to control.
“This distressing ordeal has obviously taken a huge toll on the family, who are struggling to come to terms with life without their son.

“We are now working with them to investigate what happened, both in the lead-up to the excursion and during their visit to the restaurant, in the hope that they get the answers they need as to why Cameron died.

“We fully support the work which the Wahid family is now doing in conjunction with Allergy UK to raise awareness of this important issue. We hope that this awareness-raising will help to avoid any other families having to endure a tragic loss such as the Wahid family has suffered” Cheryl Palmer-Hughes - Partner and Head of our International Serious Injury Desk

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