Jude Olive Gosling Fell Ill And Had To Be Urgently Admitted To Hospital The Day He And His Family Were Due To Fly Home

The family of a five-year-old boy who missed his flight home after contracting salmonella on holiday in Mexico are considering legal action against the company they booked their holiday with, Truly Travel, who sell holidays via the Teletext travel website.

Debbie Olive, 36, from Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire had booked the last-minute trip to Sandos Caracol Eco Resort and Spa with husband Mark, mum Margaret and sons Jacob, nine, and Jude, five, after the family’s original flight to Cape Verde with a different provider was cancelled due to a severe sandstorm.

Not wanting to disappoint her family Debbie sought to find another holiday at short notice for her family and the other eight friends that they were travelling with.

But days into the consolation break the family began to feel unwell, with youngest son Jude so violently ill he had to be seen by the hotel doctor twice before eventually being rushed to hospital on the final day of the trip where he was treated in hospital before being allowed to fly home. Friends who were also staying at the hotel also suffered similar symptoms.

When Debbie and Jude were able to return to the UK on 13 January 2017 he was taken to hospital in Stevenage and after tests were done he was diagnosed with salmonella – the after effects of which he is still suffering four months on.

Debbie instructed expert international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate how Jude came to fall so dangerously ill and they have now written to their holiday provider Truly Travel.

Debbie said: “It was a really frightening experience to see Jude so ill. We were all suffering with gastric illness for most of the time we were at the resort but on the penultimate day Jude became ill and seemed to deteriorate so rapidly we took him to see the hotel doctor who tried treating him. He was getting worse so I took him back to see the hotel doctor who told me that he needed to be treated in hospital. I had to make the difficult decision to let the rest of my family fly home without us whilst I stayed in hospital with Jude.

“It was supposed to be an amazing holiday but it was a living nightmare. We all suffered both on holiday and after we returned to the UK but none of us more than Jude who still isn’t fully recovered. You don’t expect to come home from holiday feeling worse than when you went away.

“When I took Jude to the hospital I had no idea that he would be admitted and I was not at all prepared when I was told that we could not fly home. It was a really frightening time.

“I just want to find out how we all got to be so ill and see if anything could have been done to prevent it. It’s important that all visitors to the resort – especially vulnerable ones such as children and the elderly - can be protected from such illness.”

The family spent nearly £9000 on the 10-day break which, among other things, promised beautiful tropical surroundings, a large family water park and expertly prepared local cuisine.

But when they arrived at the resort on December 31, 2016 they found the accommodation was anything but the standard anticipated, with their room’s dirty, pool murky and tiles around the pool so damaged that two members of the family cut their feet.

Debbie says on occasions she saw food left out uncovered and staff handing food without washing their hands between dishes.

Debbie says that each week of the two week holiday was affected by at least one person in the party falling ill. They were due to return on 11 January, before Jude fell dangerously ill. He was not well enough to travel until 13 January 2017 and even then he had to be treated at the Lister Hospital in the UK for further tests and treatment.

Irwin Mitchell has also been instructed by holidaymakers who have fallen seriously ill at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort and Spa after holidays taken in the summer of 2016 including at least one holidaymaker who was diagnosed as suffering with Cryptosporidium.

Clare Pearson, expert international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Jude and his family, said: 

Expert Opinion

“We are very concerned by Debbie’s account of her family’s illness, especially how seriously ill Jude was during their time in Mexico.

“Gastric illnesses such as salmonella can have a significant long-term impact on those affected, with such problems often leaving people with long-term health symptoms from which they often never fully recover.

“We are determined to help the holidaymakers who have instructed us to obtain answers regarding the issues they have faced. As part of our investigation we would be keen to hear from anyone else who was affected or witness the problems at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort and Spa.” Clare Pearson - Legal Executive & Associate