Expert International Personal Injury Lawyers Investigating Cause Of Illness That Left Family With £500 Medical Bill

A family-of-three, of which two suffered severe gastric illness problems during a fortnight long Christmas holiday in Cuba, have instructed expert International Personal Injury lawyers Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of their illness. 

Darren Money, 55, Lisa Money 48, and their 16 year-old son, Alex, from Poole in Dorset, travelled to five-star Hotel Playa Pesquero, Cuba, in December 2016, which they booked through Thomas Cook trading as Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited. 

However, just a few days into the family Christmas holiday Darren and Alex began suffering from gastric illness symptoms. Alex was so ill that he needed to seek medical attention from the resort doctor.

When Alex was receiving the treatment, the family noticed that there were numerous other guests receiving medical treatment. They were then advised to seek medical treatment from an off-site clinic by the resort doctor so further tests could be done. 

The treatment Alex received at the clinic included an ultrasound, urine tests and blood tests. However due to the language barrier, the family were unable to fully understand the treatment Alex was receiving and the reason for it. 

Alex was then given antibiotics and the family were presented with a £500 medical treatment bill.

Darren and Lisa have now instructed expert International Personal Injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the circumstances around the family’s illness as they look to understand how they came to fall ill during their Christmas break holiday.

The law firm has also acted for more than 20 people who have stayed at the Hotel Playa Pesquero in the last three years, including 11 people in 2015 alone. 

Amandeep Samra, an expert International Personal Injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the Money family, said: 

Expert Opinion

“Clearly the holiday Darren, Lisa and Alex were looking forward to, did not turn out how they planned.

“The last thing they expected was Darren and Alex to be struck down by a gastric illness, which effectively meant they lost time on their holiday and had their Christmas ruined.

“Younger people can be more vulnerable to the problems associated with gastric illness and we have seen some instances where victims suffer long-term health complications as a result of developing a gastric illness while spending time abroad.

“The Money’s have told us of a number of safety and hygiene concerns they have and we are investigating the circumstances around their illness in the hope of providing them with the answers they deserve for their ruined holiday.

“If you also travelled to this hotel and have had a similar experience we would like to hear from you to assist with our enquiries.” Amandeep Singh Samra - Associate Solicitor

The family has told their legal team that they regularly saw birds and flies in the restaurant and on occasions landing on the food, insects and bugs were also seen in their room. On occasions food that was meant to be hot was left out until it went cold and they witnessed fresh food being poured over food already in the trays.   They also had concerns over the personal hygiene of the resort’s staff when they witnessed some staff members not washing their hands after using the toilet. 

The holiday didn’t get off to the best start as their outward flight was delayed for 29 hours, leading to the family being offered space on another flight, which was not operated by Thomas Cook. However, the inflight entertainment on this flight wasn’t working.

Lisa said: “We were really disappointed with our holiday. The symptoms Darren and Alex suffered were terrible and not what we expected to be dealing with when we booked the holiday with Thomas Cook.

“The fact Alex’s problems were so bad that he needed to receive medical treatment shows just how serious his illness was. We want to know what caused the illness and to see if anything could have been done to prevent it.”

If you or a loved one has suffered an illness whilst in a hotel abroad, our accident and illness claims team could help you to secure compensation. See our Hotel Illness Claims page for more information.