Chesterfield Family Of Eight Fell Ill On Dream Spanish Holiday

A Judge has awarded a victory to a family from Chesterfield who contracted gastric illness whilst on a long awaited Spanish holiday.

The Judge, HHJ Ian Murdoch, accepted that Thomas Cook had failed in its duty to the family by supplying rooms which were damp and mould on the curtains, ceilings and walls, a broken lampshade and poorly fitting cabinet doors. 

After hearing evidence from the family and defendant witnesses, HHJ Murdoch ruled that the whole family suffered from symptoms which included diarrhoea and vomiting from food or drink provided by the hotel as part of their package holiday which had been booked with Thomas Cook.

The family flew out to the Hotel El Paso in Port Aventura in Salou, Spain on 25th August, in 2013, for an all-inclusive two-week holiday. While staying at the four-star hotel, all eight members fell ill.

After returning from their holiday, Mark and Jodie Withycombe instructed specialist lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate how they came to fall ill during their family holiday.

Mark, 52, and Jodie, 33, flew to Spain with their four children, Mark Jnr, 16, Savana, 15, Nikita, 13, and eleven-year-old Shain, as well as with Jodie’s parents, April and Joseph Turner.

The family have revealed how the holiday was booked as a rare treat so the family could enjoy some sunshine and visit the local theme park which was part of the hotel they stayed in.

After Thomas Cook denied liability for the illnesses suffered holiday illness experts from Irwin Mitchell have now succeeded in their legal action against the UK Tour Operator.

Experts who gave evidence at the trial criticised the management of hygiene at the hotel and indicated that proper hygiene measures could have prevented the family from falling ill. 

When considering the documents provided to show what hygiene measures were in place at the hotel, HHJ Murdoch said: “There had been a catastrophic failure on behalf of the Defendant (Thomas Cook) to make proper disclosure.”

After a nine-day trial, HHJ Murdoch has ruled that the family had suffered their illnesses as a result of the consumption of contaminated food or drink at the Hotel El Paso. This victory paves the way for a financial settlement for the family.

Clare Pearson, the legal holiday illness specialist at Irwin Mitchell representing the group, said:

Expert Opinion

“From the very beginning the family were determined to fight for justice as they did not feel that their complaints had been recognised by the tour operator. They do not go holiday abroad often and were really upset when they all became ill on the holiday through no fault of their own.

“They were disappointed with the condition of their hotel room and really did not think they had got what they paid for. Although this judgment will pave the way for a financial settlement it was not about that at the beginning. The family just wanted answers as to why they had been ill and why the complaints they made in resort had gone unanswered.

“It is unfortunate that the case had to go to court, and couldn’t be settled beforehand.

“We have been working with the family since their return to the UK to help them gain justice after their negative experiences. We are delighted that we have finally achieved this for them in the courts.” Clare Pearson - Legal Executive & Associate

Upon arrival at the hotel, the family experienced immediate issues. They have recalled to their legal team that there was damp and mould on the walls, ants in the bathroom and what appeared to be faeces on the wall. They reported these issues to a rep who informed them that the rooms would be given a deep clean.

Mark, a yard manager, said: “We were all disappointed when we saw our hotel rooms and things went from bad to worse once we started to fall ill.

“We didn’t expect to return home feeling worse than we did when we left. I remember Jodie’s Mum crying and saying that she just wanted to come home.  It was horrible to see the children being poorly.

“When we got back to the UK all we wanted was for Thomas Cook to accept and recognise our complaints and we had hoped for an apology. We felt like we had no choice but to take legal action because they had not taken us seriously when we had complained in resort.

“We are delighted that despite a lengthy legal battle the court has ruled in our favour. We feel that at last we have some justice for what we went through.”

Legal specialist Clare added: 

Expert Opinion

“It is deeply frustrating to see a UK based tour operator failing in its own duties to its clients and then failing to recognise this at an earlier stage. It is testament to the Withycombe and Turner families’ determination to get justice that this result has been achieved.

“It was accepted that the standards of the families’ hotel rooms fell short of those the hotel staff would have expected to have been able to provide. Holiday companies owe a duty of care to holidaymakers to ensure that the hotels they send their guests to are safe and comply with health and safety regulations which are in place to protect guests.” Clare Pearson - Legal Executive & Associate

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