Lawyers Instructed Regarding Riu Touareg for Third Consecutive Year

A holidaymaker, who required a drip and medication after he developed serious gastric illness symptoms at the Riu Touareg resort in Cape Verde in June this year, is one of a number of holidaymakers who have instructed lawyers regarding problems at the site this summer.

Jonathon Barker, 24, from Redcar, developed symptoms including abdominal pains, lethargy, diarrhoea, vomiting and weight loss around a week into his stay at the hotel in Boa Vista with his partner, which was booked through TUI.

The problems proved so severe that he sought medical advice during his stay and also continued to suffer with the symptoms on his return back to the UK.

He is one of over a dozen holidaymakers who have now instructed Irwin Mitchell’s specialist holiday illness team to investigate illness problems linked to stays at the Riu Touareg between February and August this year.

The legal experts have vast experience providing advice and support to holidaymakers in relation to problems at resorts across the world, with the specialists also acting for people affected by previous issues at this hotel in 2013, 2016 and 2017.

Laura Gibbins, a holiday illness specialist at Irwin Mitchell who is representing those affected by the latest problems, said: “We are hugely concerned by the reports provided to us by our clients following their stays at the Riu Touareg and are already working to develop a full picture of the issues that they have experienced.

“The seriousness of gastric illness problems of this kind should never be underestimated; we have seen numerous cases where such issues have left victims with long-term health problems from which they never fully recover.

“As such we are determined to ensure that our clients get answers regarding what they have been through, while lessons should also be learned so such problems never emerge again.”

Jonathon’s 10-day stay at the Riu Touareg resort began on June 21st and it was around a week later when he first started to feel unwell.

He recalled: “I really struggled with the illness and the symptoms were awful. It was just horrendous and when I visited the resort’s medical centre I was stunned when they said that I needed to be put on a drip.

“It was the kind of experience that you simply never expect to have when you’re on holiday and it just turned the final part of the break into a bit of a nightmare. To make matters worse the issues then continued after I got home  

“I was shocked when I talked to other holidaymakers who were also ill as, although I had seen some concerning issues like cats in the restaurant area, sometimes food was left uncovered for prolonged periods, and there were some problems in relation to the cleanliness of the swimming pool, I never thought I was at serious risk of illness.

“I am so frustrated that this went on to ruin my holiday and I just feel I deserve to know whether more could have been done to stop it from happening. Hopefully taking this action will mean that others won’t suffer like I have in the future.”

Read about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in holiday illness cases.