Going away on holiday gives us the chance to escape the routine of daily life, relax and rejuvenate.
If you fall victim to a bout of food poisoning while on holiday, it can ruin the whole experience.
You may end up with the feeling that you would have been better off staying at home.
What can you do if you have been affected by food poisoning while on holiday and wish to claim compensation?
While you are still on holiday
You will need to get through the remainder of your holiday as best you can.
You may need medical treatment and you should not hesitate to seek medical help if you get food poisoning on holiday.
Apart from anything else, the health consequences of food poisoning can be serious if left untreated.
From a claim perspective, however, suffering in silence – only to raise the matter on your return home – will make it difficult to prove the link between your illness and the hotel or resort where you stayed.
If the hygiene standards at your hotel are poor and you have become sick as a result, it is likely that other tourists will be affected in the same way.
It will help your chances of claiming successfully if you can obtain the contact details of fellow holidaymakers with similar symptoms.
You should keep all receipts for any treatment and medication charges so that, if you decide to make a claim once you get home, the expenses you have incurred can be reimbursed.
On your return home
When you get back from your holiday, you may need further treatment from a hospital or your GP.
In that event, you may undergo testing to find out which bacteria is the cause of your illness.
This can provide the necessary evidence to prove that you are ill as a result of food poisoning, as opposed to some other cause. Accordingly, the medical diagnosis is important.
You may also be able to claim compensation for holiday sickness or illness which is not associated with food poisoning. Examples include an outbreak of disease on board a cruise ship (e.g. Norovirus) or at a holiday resort.
Types of food poisoning
One of the most common causes of serious food poisoning among tourists is Salmonella.
It is a type of bacteria often found in fish, meat and dairy produce.
It causes gastro-intestinal problems, with symptoms including high temperature, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
These symptoms can last for several days and treatment with antibiotics is usually effective.
However, where the condition goes untreated, the effects of the food poisoning can worsen to the extent that hospital treatment is required.
Other common bacterial sources of food poisoning among tourists – which result in symptoms similar to Salmonella – include E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella, Campylobacter and Clostridium botulinum.
Help from a specialist solicitor
As soon as you feel well enough, you should get legal advice about a possible compensation claim.
In many cases, any claim will be against the tour operator through which you booked your holiday. They have a responsibility to see to it that the hotels they use follow stringent food hygiene procedures.
In our experience, on returning home, there is a temptation for you to correspond directly with the tour operator. This may result in an offer of a small amount of monetary compensation or a voucher for a reduction in price of a future holiday.
It is best to seek expert legal advice in this situation because, in potentially under-settling your claim, there is a significant risk you could be letting the tour operator off the hook.
If your holiday was within the UK
You may still be able to make a claim, even if you were not abroad when you contracted food poisoning.
The same considerations as above apply if you were travelling with a tour operator.
Otherwise, you need to establish exactly where you consumed the contaminated food. Any claim would then be directed against the offending café, restaurant or outlet.
How we can help
For more information about claims based on injury due to food poisoning, or any aspect of our accident and injury claims services, please give us a call on 01343 544077.
Alternatively, send us an Online Enquiry and Peter or Marie will call or email you back.
We will always do our best to help you in your best interests – whether that is by taking the claim on ourselves or recommending a better alternative course of action.
There is no charge for initial telephone or email discussions.
