Beautician, 60, wins £8,500 in damages from holiday firm TUI after she was left in a WHEELCHAIR when she suffered food poisoning during a luxury wellness break in Morocco
- Jennifer Irving has booked an all-inclusive stay at Hotel Les Jardins d’Agadir
- But she was left vomiting during her stay at the Morocco hotel in March 2018
- Then she fainted on the plane and had to be carried off on a wheelchair
- Told Central London County Court she only ate at the hotel during her stay
A beautician has won £8,500 in damages from holiday firm TUI after she was left in a wheelchair when she suffered food poisoning during a luxury wellness break in Morocco.
Masseur Jennifer Irving’s week-long all inclusive holiday at four-star Hotel Les Jardins d’Agadir in Morocco in March 2018 ended with her projectile vomiting in her hotel room.
The reflexologist then fainted on the flight home and being shuttled off the plane in a wheelchair.
Jennifer Irving is pictured outside Central London County Court as she won her payout against TUI for her awful bout of food poisoning
Ms Irving, who runs Hampstead-based therapy salon, Natural Beauty from Within, was poorly for two weeks following her return to London, and could not work for several days after jetting back.
She fell ill on the fifth day of her stay at the hotel, which has its own hammam, spa and ‘wellness centre’ as well as more traditional holiday attractions such as a pool and waterpark.
She told Central London County Court: ‘I suddenly started feeling really ill and felt like I needed to be sick. It was like projectile vomit came out of me.
‘One minute I was literally vomiting and the next minute it was diarrhoea so I didn’t know which way to turn.’
Pictured: Hotel Jardins D’Agadir in Morocco, where the reflexologist claims she had food poisoning
Jennifer Irving says she got food poisoning at this hotel after booking through TUI and has won a payout against the firm
She had booked an all-inclusive package through TUI at the massive luxury hotel, and ate nowhere else throughout her stay.
Judge Jonathan Hand QC has now ordered TUI to pay out £8,639 in costs and damages, after finding that the hotel was the most likely source of her stomach bug.
Ms Irving, from the witness box, told Judge Hand that her symptoms were ‘acute’ for the last two days of her stay and blighted her flight home.
‘I felt sick (on the plane) and before I realised I had fainted and an air hostess was there with some ice,’ she told the court.
A wheelchair was waiting for her at the other end and Ms Irving said the service she received from TUI on the flight home was excellent.
But the 60-year-old later claimed damages, blaming the holiday company for her disrupted break and the lingering after-effects of her illness.
Her lawyers pointed the finger of blame at the hotel for her food poisoning, although the precise cause cannot be known.
Ms Irving told the court she only ventured outside the hotel to take strolls and tour the surroundings.
Jennifer Irving (pictured) fainted on a plane and had to be taken off in a wheelchair, the court has heard
She did not swim in the pool or the sea and, although she visited a local zoo, had no contact with the animals.
While she was happy with the hotel, she felt the ‘serving areas were not as clean as they should be,’ she said, and was concerned by the number of ‘large feathered birds’ in the outside eating areas, who seemed to gather when the cooks were preparing pancakes.
She was also troubled by waiters handing over glasses of Moroccan mint tea, held ‘from the top’.
Lawyers for TUI disputed her claims, insisting there were no complaints of food poisoning from other guests, and pointing out the hotel’s first-class reputation for hygiene – having recently been awarded 98 percent for food safety.
But Judge Hand, ruling against TUI, highlighted medical evidence pinpointing the hotel as the likely cause of her stomach bug.
‘Of course the court and the experts cannot rule out the possibility of some other cause,’ he told the court.
‘But it seems to me, mindful that she did not eat outside the hotel, that the fundamental conclusions of the expert remain good.
‘She does not need to prove the cause of the contamination, she simply needs to prove that her symptoms were caused by contaminated food.
‘Taking all the evidence together, it seems that on the balance of probability she has established her case on liability.’
Judge Hand awarded Ms Irving £1,623 for her two days of misery on holiday, and for the aftermath.
On top of the damages bill TUI must shell out £7,016 in legal costs and other case-related expenses.
A TUI UK spokesperson said afterwards: ‘We acknowledge the court’s judgement and would like to apologise to Mrs Irving for her experience.’
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