Legal Experts React After Public Health England Confirms Death Of A Guest

Lawyers representing the victims of a fatal Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Stoke five years ago have demanded that swift and thorough action is undertaken after it was confirmed that a guest at a Shropshire hotel had died from the illness.

Public Health England has confirmed that The Feathers Hotel in Ludlow has voluntarily closed to the public after a woman in her 60s died in mid-August from the illness shortly after staying at the hotel. Another guest, a woman in her 70s, is thought to have made a recovery after being diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in April.

Tests have confirmed that the legionella bacteria had been found at the hotel, which is now writing to recent guests to urge them to get in touch if they experience any flu-like symptoms such as headaches, coughing and fever.

Following the news of the problems, specialist Public Health lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are calling on Public Health England and the hotel to work quickly to determine how the issues emerged and also to ensure that the site is completely safe before it opens its doors again.

The legal experts have significant experience acting for thousands of victims of a range of serious illnesses and successfully represented the families of 17 people affected by a Legionnaires’ outbreak in 2012 which was linked to a hot tub display feature in a Stoke-on-Trent store. Three people died as a result of the problems.

Expert Opinion

Through our work on the Stoke outbreak, we have seen the devastating consequences that Legionnaires’ disease can have on those most vulnerable such as the elderly, and or the families of those unfortunate enough to have lost their lives as a result of an outbreak.

“With this in mind, it is vital that steps are taken to both pinpoint the exact cause of these issues linked to The Feathers Hotel and then address the problems so no one else is affected in the future.

“Legionnaires’ disease is a preventable illness and businesses have clear responsibilities when it comes to reducing the risk of such outbreaks emerging.

“It is absolutely imperative that lessons can be learned from this case so that safety standards can be improved and no one else faces the same issues in the future.” Amandeep Dhillon - Partner

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in Legionnaires' Disease Cases.