16-Year-Old Admitted To Hospital After Illness Complicated Management Of Diabetes

The father of a 16-year-old girl who suffered severe illness after visiting the White City branch of Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca has instructed expert Public Health lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of her illness after it left their daughter requiring hospital treatment.

Sarah Cousins, 16, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, visited the restaurant with her father Mike and his partner Kate Walker on 29 October 2016.

The A-Level student, who has Type1 diabetes, started to suffer from gastric symptoms after her visit to the restaurant and as a result of the illness she went into ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes often caused by a lack of insulin in the body, and was admitted to hospital.

She stabilised and was discharged after one night in hospital and now, her father Mike Cousins, has instructed expert public health lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of the illness.

Shortly after Sarah’s illness it was revealed Public Health England (PHE) was investigating Wahaca after more than 300 people fell ill following a suspected outbreak of norovirus at the restaurant chain.

The restaurant chain subsequently closed nine branches as it investigated the cause and worked with PHE.

Having successfully represented thousands of people unfortunate enough to have contracted gastric illness, the public health team at Irwin Mitchell know first-hand the potential long term effects which can be associated with such illness, with sometimes permanent long term complications arising such as post-infective Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

The team at Irwin Mitchell currently represent hundreds of people who have suffered illness in the UK, including The Toby Carvery outbreak in Exeter in 2015 where they currently act for over 300 people, and have successfully recovered compensation for Claimants who suffered illness as a result of the Newcastle Spice Festival, Grand Hotel Scarborough and Stoke Legionnaires outbreaks.

Expert Opinion

“Illness outbreaks of this scale in the UK are obviously a real concern and it is important that both customers and staff affected by the suspected norovirus outbreak are provided with the answers they are seeking.

“We would encourage anyone who has been affected by this outbreak to see their GP at the earliest available opportunity. We would also like to speak with them as they may be able to help with our investigations.

“The impact the illness has had on Sarah indicates just how serious outbreaks like this can be for vulnerable individuals. The management of her diabetes was severely impacted by the illness she suffered and, as a result, she required emergency medical attention.

“We welcome the restaurant chain’s decision to close a number of its outlets in order to control the further spread of the illness and we would urge the management to work quickly and thoroughly with the PHE to ensure that the cause of the illness is determined. It is also important that lessons are learned by the chain to prevent this kind of thing happening in the future.

“While most people make a full recovery from norovirus within days, we have seen first-hand that some can be unfortunate enough to have symptoms which persist in the long-term months, with the elderly and young children more at risk of becoming dehydrated which may require hospital treatment.” Amandeep Dhillon - Partner

Sarah missed a week of college, where she is studying her A-Levels, as she continued her recovery at home.

Mike, 48 said: “The illness Sarah suffered was extremely concerning as she ended up being admitted to hospital and we were very worried for her health. It is particularly distressing for Sarah because of the disruption to her studies and the effects on her diabetes.

“Thankfully, although symptoms continue, she was able to recover well enough to leave hospital but things could have been a lot worse. For this to happen as a result of the illness outbreak linked to the Wahaca restaurants is concerning and we hope the restaurant will explain how this was able to happen.”