Little Cameron Wahid Went Into Anaphylactic Shock After Allegedly Being Given Dairy Produce At La Margherita Villa Giuseppina in Ravello, Italy

On the second anniversary of his death, the family of a seven-year-old British boy who died from an allergic reaction after eating dairy produce in Italy have spoken about their desire for answers, and the need for greater awareness of the fatal potential of food allergies.

Cameron Wahid was on holiday with his family in October 2015 when he suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction. He died at Naples’ Santobono Hospital on October 30, three days after going into cardiac and respiratory arrest in Ravello town square following a meal with his family at La Margherita Villa Giuseppina restaurant.  

The schoolboy’s devastated family instructed expert international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell following his death. A police investigation in Italy led to the owners of the restaurant and staff involved in preparing and serving Cameron’s meal being charged and criminal proceedings are currently ongoing.

Following a series of hearings in the country, the judge at Salerno has  scheduled further hearings to consider evidence from experts, paramedics and lay witnesses before she reaches a verdict.

Cameron’s parents Riz and Cassandra Wahid, say they are hoping the verdict will give them the answers about how Cameron came to die and whether more could have been done to highlight the dangers of poor allergen awareness at the restaurant.

They have recalled to their expert international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell that they would always have to warn restaurant staff about Cameron’s severe allergies whenever they ate out. They were fully aware of the potential consequences should his meals contain dairy and would firmly stress these upon waiting staff.

Riz, 39 from East Grinstead in West Sussex, who now works with Allergy UK as an ambassador, said: “We were so careful about letting everyone know about the severity of Cameron’s allergy because it was such a danger for him. We have always felt his death was avoidable and it has left us devastated. Our loss is something from which I feel we will never recover.

“I feel compelled to do everything I can, so that nobody else has to watch their child die as we did. On one hand, all we can do now is wait for the judges to reach a conclusion.

“However, on the other, I know that as a family we can do a lot, and make a lot of noise, to help raise awareness of food allergies, their severity and the devastating consequences they can have.” 

Food allergies in general have become a trend topic, with programmes such as ITV’s This Morning giving its backing to food allergy campaigns.

Daniel Matchett, an expert international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, said: 

Expert Opinion

“The Wahid family has been through one of the worst experiences imaginable having seen Cameron die from a condition which they had always been so very careful to control.

“This distressing ordeal has obviously taken a huge toll on the family, and on the second anniversary of his death they are still, understandably, struggling to come to terms with life without their little boy.” Daniel Matchett - Associate Solicitor

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