Our specialist travel illness lawyers have secured a five-figure compensation settlement for a family who fell ill with gastric symptoms while on holiday in Mexico.
The Wolff family travelled to Mexico for two weeks in June 2013 after booking to stay at the four-star Gran Caribe Real resort in Cancún. When they arrived, however, the resort was extremely busy and they asked to be moved to another resort. The replacement they were offered, the Gran Port Real resort, did not feel like a “like for like” alternative and the family asked to be moved again.
The family ended up at the Royal Playa Del Carmen resort but their troubles continued. Within just a few days of being at this third resort, three of the family all began to suffer gastric symptoms including diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting, fever and a lack of appetite.
Although the family were pleased with their room at the resort, they complained that some of the food seemed repetitive, with similar dishes appeared at both lunchtime and for the evening meal. They reported that food sometimes appeared to be reheated and was on occasions served lukewarm.
Licia Wolff, a beautician, said, “we were all really looking forward to this break as it was one of the last holidays I was going to have with my sons before they leave home but it ended up being an absolute nightmare. We were expecting a luxury four-star break, but our experience was as far from luxury as I could have imagined.”
All three family members have continued to suffer from the symptoms since their return to the UK, with Licia and her son Joshua both losing more than a stone in weight due to the ongoing impact of the illness they suffered in Mexico. Licia was forced to take three weeks of work on her return to the UK as her symptoms continued.
The family contacted solicitors in our travel illness compensation team and we made a claim against their tour operator, Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited. Thomas Cook denied liability for the families’ illness but our lawyers agreed a settlement and secured a five figure sum for the family.
Nicola Blackburn is a paralegal specialising in travel illness claims. She said “Licia and her family were expecting a luxurious and relaxing break in Mexico, but they endured a terrible experience and as well as having to move to three different hotels, three of them developed horrendous symptoms. The family are extremely relieved that they have received a settlement from the tour operator. We hope that our clients can now start to move on with their lives and put this experience behind them.”
“We would like to thank our legal team at Irwin Mitchell for their support and now we will look to put this ordeal behind us,” said Licia.
If you have suffered gastric symptoms while holidaying in Mexico, our travel illness solicitors may be able to help you claim compensation. See our Mexico food poisoning compensation page for more information.
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