Lawyers Acting For Number Of Passengers Affected By Problems

Specialist travel lawyers representing nine frustrated passengers who suffered illness problems following voyages on board Thomson’s Majesty cruise ship have begun legal action in an effort to help them gain answers regarding their ordeals.

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist International Personal Injury lawyers have been instructed to investigate the cause of a number of passengers’ illnesses after they fell ill with gastric symptoms and chest infections during and after stays on the vessel between December 2014 and January 2015.

Passengers affected by the problems have told their legal team of concerns related to cleanliness on the ship with one passenger claiming that within the restaurant the table linen and utensils were sometimes dirty.

There were also issues related to some of the food served on board as food was sometimes left out for long periods of time and was on occasions served lukewarm.

Passengers instructing Irwin Mitchell include Tracy Owen, from Holbury, Southampton, who has revealed how the illness she suffered during her special Christmas holiday with her son has continued to affect her life more than 12 months on. They had gone on the cruise to take her mind off the fact it was the anniversary of her father’s death.

Jennifer Downing, the specialist international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who is representing Tracy and others affected by problems on the Thomson Majesty, said:

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“We’ve heard a number of worrying first-hand accounts from a number of passengers who fell ill on the Thomson Majesty cruise ship across this two-month period and we are in correspondence with Thomson regarding the issues that our clients faced.

“The seriousness of illnesses of this nature should never be downplayed, as we see many cases in which people develop long-term health implications as a result of such problems.

“All of our clients are desperate for answers regarding how their illnesses emerged, as well as reassurances as to what steps if any can be taken to prevent others from facing the same problems in the future.” Jennifer Downing - Solicitor

Shop assistant, Tracy, was coming to the end of her cruise on the Thomson Majesty with her 12 year-old son Billy when she developed vomiting and diarrhoea on Boxing Day 2014.

She recalls: “Billy was already suffering with the symptoms when I fell ill and it was absolutely awful. I also suffered stomach cramps and a fever, but was only given some medical advice from experts on board as we were due to disembark.

“Getting home was hugely stressful due to the illness and it was difficult getting to see my GP particularly as it was Christmas.”

To make matters worse for Tracy, the illness also exacerbated her existing problems with irritable bowel syndrome and she now suffers additional symptoms as a result.

She added: “Our Christmas was just completely ruined and the illness meant that we didn’t get to enjoy the cruise at all.

“It was just devastating and I can’t believe that over a year on I am still affected by what we went through. All we want now is to know how and why we fell so ill.”

If you have fallen ill whilst on a cruise ship, our personal injury claims team could help you to secure compensation. See our Cruise Illness Claims page for more information.