Lawyers Investigating Concerns Around 30 Other Guests Could Have Fallen Ill When Staying At Resort

A grandmother whose special stay at a Gran Canaria holiday resort to mark New Year was “ruined” when suspected food poisoning left her confined to a hotel room for three days has called on specialist lawyers to help her gain answers regarding her experiences.

Helen Forshaw, 61, from Warrington, has revealed how she developed severe symptoms of stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting during the second week of her fortnight-long stay at the Paradise Lago Taurito resort with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson.

The problems during the all-inclusive break proved so severe that she was unable to leave her room for several days.

Helen said she had been told by other guests that around 30 other people, including some from the UK, had also fallen ill while staying at the resort. It is believed a guest compiled a list of people who were ill suffering with similar symptoms to show the hotel.

Following her issues, Helen instructed Irwin Mitchell’s specialist International Personal Injury team to investigate. The legal experts have vast experience of providing advice and support to thousands of holidaymakers affected by illness and injury during breaks abroad.

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling holiday illness cases 

Jayne Murphy, the legal expert at Irwin Mitchell who is representing Helen, said: “We are hugely concerned by the account that Helen has provided to us and have already commenced our investigations into her experiences.

“Sadly this is yet another case which demonstrates the significant impact that gastric illness problems abroad can have, with the problems seen here ruining a special family break and also having a lasting impact on Helen.

“It is very worrying that many more people staying at the resort could also potentially have been affected by illness and we are now investigating whether this was the case.

“We are determined to get to the bottom of what Helen has been through and provide her with answers as to why she fell ill.”

Helen’s break at the Paradise Lago Taurito - booked through Thomas Cook Tour Operations Ltd Trading as Airtours - started on 31 December, 2018. She went on to develop illness symptoms from on or around the 9 January.

She recalled: “The diarrhoea and vomiting was absolutely horrendous and it got to the point where I had difficulty leaving my room for three days. While I initially had no idea how bad the problems at the hotel were, another guest put a letter under my door saying that there were in the region of 30 people also affected.

“We were even given cards by staff at our resort to go and use the food services at another hotel across the road. While the meals looked impressive, I was simply not up to trying much. The hotel provided water to our rooms daily.”

The illness continued to affect Helen on her return to the UK, as she has generally eaten less and also been scared to do so in case her symptoms flare up again.

She added: “I was hugely disappointed by the experience, especially as I had stayed at the hotel just the year before and really enjoyed it.

“However, so many things seemed a little off this time. Some of the food seemed to be undercooked at times and the standard definitely did not appear to be the same. At one point, my son-in-law took food back to the counter saying it was inedible and all the staff did was to put it back under a grill to brown.

“This was supposed to be a relaxing and fun way to start 2019 yet it was just tainted. I feel I’m entitled to some answers regarding this and whether anything is actually being done to prevent it from happening again.”