Expert Travel Illness Lawyers Investigating Cause of Family’s Gastric Illnesses

A family-of-five whose holiday to Bulgaria was ruined when four members of the family suffered from Cryptosporidium and one was also diagnosed with Campylobacter has instructed expert travel illness lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of their illness at the Laguna Park Hotel.

David and Beverley Girgan, from Northallerton, their two children, Freya, 11, and Riley, 8, and Beverley’s mother Angela Smith, 68, travelled to the three-star Laguna Park Hotel in August 2015 for a relaxing family break.

Towards the end of the holiday Riley and Freya began to suffer severe gastric illness symptoms, including diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

Both Beverley, 43, and David, 45, also began to suffer illness on their final day at the hotel and all four continued to suffer with the symptoms on their return to the UK. Tests carried out by their GP confirmed all four were suffering from illness caused by Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause extreme gastric illness.

Tests also confirmed that in addition to having picked up Cryptosporidium David also had Campylobacter, one of the most common causes of food poisoning.

David, a warehouse worker, and Beverley, a cashier, both had to take time off work due to the symptoms they were suffering and Freya was forced to miss the first week of the new school term due to on-going illness.

The family has now instructed specialist illness lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, who have vast experiencing representing those who have suffered the potentially long-term effects of Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter. The law firm has now contacted tour operator Balkan Holidays Limited as they seek to investigate the cause of the family’s illness.

Amandeep Samra, an expert travel illness lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, said: 

Expert Opinion

“The confirmation that four members of the Girgan family were all suffering with Cryptosporidium is extremely concerning, particularly for David, who was also suffering with Campylobacter.

“The illnesses caused by these parasites and bacteria are very serious and can have a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of those affected. Both Beverley and David required time off work to recover from their terrible symptoms and Freya was forced to miss a week of school.

“We are now carrying out our investigations to determine how they managed to contract Cryptosporidium and Campylobacter while on holiday. We would urge anyone else who suffered similar illness issues while staying at the hotel to contact us as they may be able to help with our enquiries.” Amandeep Singh Samra - Associate Solicitor

The family told their legal team at Irwin Mitchell they sometimes saw food left uncovered while the family were dining; they were on occasions served undercooked chicken and that cats were often spotted in the restaurants near to the food.

Beverley said: “We were all looking forward to this family holiday for a number of months and hoped it would be a relaxing and enjoyable experience, but it was anything but. Freya and Riley both suffered terrible illness while we were away and David and I felt the effects at the end of the holiday and on our return home.

“The illness completely tarnished our holiday experience and we’ve now been left angry, upset and with nothing but bad memories about our trip. The last thing you expect when you book a holiday abroad is to need to take a week off work when you come back because of illness.

“We hope that our legal team at Irwin Mitchell will be able to discover how we managed to become so ill.”