Potters Bar Family Among Growing Group To Instruct Legal Experts Following “Nightmare” Holiday

A group of UK holidaymakers struck down with severe illness linked to a five-star resort have asked lawyers to investigate. 

Specialist international serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have so far been instructed by 12 tourists who fell ill during and after holidays at the TUI Blue Manar in Hammamet, Tunisia, this summer.

They include husband and wife Bunty and Panna Shah, of Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. Their 12-year-old daughter Jasmine was sick in the hotel restaurant while Bunty - who has the lifelong digestive condition Crohn’s disease - and Panna continue to suffer with symptoms including diarrhoea more than two weeks after returning home from their holiday which cost more than £5,000.

All the holidaymakers booked their trips through tour operator TUI. 

Jatinder Paul is the expert international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the group.

Expert Opinion

“We’re being contacted by a growing number of people across the UK who fell ill during holidays to the TUI Blue Manar this summer.

“While their trips were separate, many of our clients are reporting suffering the same serious symptoms, including severe sickness and diarrhoea.

“Understandably, our clients now want answers as to how they became so ill on a five-star holiday. We’re investigating these first-hand accounts and are determined to provide them with the answers they deserve.

“Gastric illness can lead to serious and long-term health complications and its impact should never be downplayed. It’s vital that those with concerns about the resort are now supported.

“If during the course of our investigations any issues are identified, action needs to be taken to reduce the risk of other holidaymakers falling ill in the future.

“As part of our investigations, we would be interested in hearing from other guests staying at the hotel at the same time as this group.” Jatinder Paul

Holiday illness: The Shah's story

Bunty and Panna, aged 50 and 46, travelled to the hotel with Jasmine and 19-year-old son Dylan, for a two-week holiday on 5 July. 

Jasmine fell ill with vomiting, diarrhoea, a fever and stomach cramps on 14 July. Panna, an accounts manager, fell ill two days later with the same symptoms.

Dylan, who is studying at university, fell ill on 19 July with vomiting, diarrhoea, a fever and stomach cramps. Bunty, a company director, had similar symptoms on return back to the UK.

A doctor was called to see Jasmine on 15 July and the doctor was called again to see Panna on 17 July.  On 16 July a doctor also told Panna to get anti-sickness tablets from the hotel nurse. 

The family said they had a number of complaints with the hotel including insecticide being sprayed while they were in their room and food in the buffet restaurant which was not labelled correctly. Panna, a strict vegetarian, said she found meat dishes frequently next to vegetarian dishes and witnessed lots of cross contamination with spoons. 

Family who holidayed at Tui Blue Manar Hammamet want answers after falling ill

Bunty said: “The enthusiasm and excitement we had about our holiday quickly vanished when we started falling unwell. 

“It was awful seeing Jasmine and Panna poorly. I believed it would only be a matter of time before Dylan and I fell ill.” 

Panna added: “We couldn’t even keep down water and I’ve never been so ill in my life. All we wanted was to be home.

“To make matters worse when we did try to raise our concerns, we felt ignored. It was such a relief to get home but it wasn’t the case of getting home and feeling better. Even now we’re still not right and suffering symptoms. 

“We’ve since seen social media rumours regarding the hotel and that other guests have also reported falling ill so you wonder how many others could have been affected. 

“We wish we’d never gone on the holiday as it was a complete nightmare. However, we can’t change that but the least we deserve is answers as to what happened.”

Find out more about our expertise in supporting people affected by serious illness on holiday at our dedicated illness abroad section. Alternatively, to speak to an expert contact us or call 0370 1500 100.