£4,000 in Compensation Awarded to Mother & Son

Our dedicated travel law solicitors were recently instructed by a mother, on behalf of herself and her young son, after they were both struck with holiday illness during their Bulgarian getaway.

Two week family holiday ruined

Our client booked an all-inclusive package holiday to Bulgaria, through tour operators Thomas Cook, at the end of June 2015.

However their two week family holiday to the 3* Laguna Park Hotel did not go as planned, due to the mother of the group – and her son – contracting a severe bout of gastric illness. Both report suffering with severe diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. They also complained of a raised temperature and fatigue.

As a result of their symptoms, which lasted a fortnight, our clients were unable to enjoy their time in Bulgaria. Day to day activities such as sight seeing, excursions and swimming were also restricted throughout the family’s stay at the Laguna Park Hotel.

Poor hygiene standards in hotel

Due to the board type of our client’s holiday (all-inclusive) all food and drink throughout their stay was provided by and consumed within the hotel. Unfortunately according to our client, the standards of food hygiene within the hotel restaurant were not to an acceptable standard. Our client reports:

• Buffet Style food service which was often tepid in temperature and left uncovered for extended periods of time.
• Food appeared to be reheated and partially cooked
• Certain food were being recycled for use in other meals
• Hot food was being added to trays containing cooler food of the same type
• Drinks served tasted as if they were watered down
• Certain foods were being recycled for use in other meals
• Ice in drinks which was believed to be made from local tap water

Separately, the standards of general cleanliness throughout the hotel and its grounds were also poor. According to the Claimant:

• There was a smell of sewage around the hotel grounds
• It appeared as though raw sewage was being sprayed on hotel greenery
• The pool water and pool edges were dirty
• Our client did not witness the pool being tested for chlorine or Ph levels

The Claimant avers that both her and her son’s symptoms were directly caused by eating at the hotel restaurant, she adds that it was often ‘dirty’ and that a high volume of flies, birds and insects could be seen around the eating areas.

Holiday illness claims – expert advice

If you believe that your holiday illness symptoms are linked to poor hygiene standards within your package deal hotel, you may be entitled to holiday illness compensation. There are certain steps that you could take in support of your claim:

•Note all important dates
•Report any hygiene issues to your holiday rep
•Document any suspected poor hygiene (e.g. photo, video)

For further information on holiday sickness compensation, please see our ‘Package Holiday Claims’ page.

To discover how much compensation you could be entitled to, call our expert team of travel law solicitors today for instant answers. Whatever your experience with holiday sickness, we may be able to help. We offer you a FREE no-obligation consultation. Call 0800 888 6 888 or email .