Lawyers Instructed by Dozens of Holidaymakers and Expecting More Enquiries After Hearing Of Multiple Families Affected On Easter Holidays

A family of four who booked a five-star Easter trip to Turkey to recuperate from a difficult time at work are taking legal action after it was ruined by illness which left one of them needing an IV drip and confined to their room.

It’s also understood that there are multiple other families who travelled at a similar time to the same resort also considering legal action after suffering the same illness issues.

Site manager Liam Garnett, 37, from Failsworth, Manchester, travelled with his family to the Rixos Sungate in the Antalya area of Turkey for a luxury week abroad in April this year.

The all-inclusive resort is a five-star hotel boasting 11 restaurants but the holiday turned sour when he ended up needing medical treatment including an IV drip after suffering from symptoms similar to acute gastroenteritis. Upon return to the UK, Liam has needed further treatment and underwent tests including abdomen and chest x-rays. His partner Gabrielle, 30, and two children, aged six and four, also suffered from horrible symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting with one still off school due to illness.

The family has now instructed specialist international serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate legal action against tour operator TUI UK Limited following the problems they faced, and lawyers at the firm say they are aware of others also considering legal action and they expect the group to grow quickly.

Liam said: “We booked the trip as it had been a tough time at work recently so we wanted to get away somewhere nice for Easter. But a few days in I was suffering with really bad sickness, fever and stomach cramps and I was in my hotel room for most of the next five days. Now I’m back home I’ve had to go back to work but luckily I can work from home as my illness is still ongoing.

“It was horrible being ill, then seeing my children also suffering from sickness. The holiday was just a disaster and we want to know what went wrong. There were others at the same hotel who were also ill and I know they are considering legal action too as you don’t book a five-star holiday expecting to spend most of it in bed with illness.”

Liam said they saw food served uncovered at the resort while cutlery, crockery and tables were often dirty. There were cats in and around the restaurant and they saw chefs smoking in fire exits and not washing their hands afterwards and not wearing gloves to dish out food.

Expert Opinion

“It’s very concerning that multiple families seem to have suffered from similar horrible illness symptoms at the same time, at the same resort. Naturally they want answers as to how they have become so ill on a five-star holiday.

“No one goes on holiday expecting to need medical treatment either in the resort and even on their return home. We will now be writing to their tour operator TUI UK Limited as we seek to resolve the problems and find out what went wrong for the holidaymakers we are representing.” Jatinder Paul, International Serious Injury Lawyer