Head of practice Clive Garner is championed by sources as a lawyer "at the very top of his game," and whose involvement on behalf of [claimants] is seen as the "kiss of death for defendants." Garner has acted on securing millions of pounds in damages for illnesses and injuries suffered abroad in 90 mass class actions over the past year.
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Lawyers Demand Better Hygiene Standards After Illness On Grand Princess Cruise Ship
Published date:
21 May 2010
Leading travel lawyers from Irwin Mitchell have demanded stricter regulations around hygiene on cruise ships after being contacted by passengers struck down by illness on board the Grand Princess cruise ship.
Passengers still on board the ship have been contacting travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to complain about the latest illness outbreak.
Details from the authorities in Southampton showed that the ship was cleaned and turned around in just over ten hours, despite hundreds of passengers reportedly having suffered illness. The firm is now demanding to know why the ship was allowed to set sail with such a short turnaround.
Clive Garner, head of the Travel Law team at Irwin Mitchell is also demanding that passengers booked on the next cruise be told of the current problems and health risks before boarding. He also says that these passengers should be able to choose whether to carry on with their holiday, choose an alternative or get a full refund.
Mr Garner also urged Port Authorities to ensure that ships are given a thorough deep clean before being allowed to sail again. The ship is due to sail again from Southampton just nine hours after it returns to Southampton on May 22nd.
Passengers on board the ship say they are getting regular daily updates on the illness outbreak, believed to be Norovirus. The buffet restaurant on the ship has been closed in an attempt to contain the outbreak.
Irwin Mitchell already represents passengers who have fallen ill while on the Grand Princess. These include William Clasper and his wife Mary who were hit by severe gastric illness while on the ship earlier this month.
The couple say their trip was ruined by diarrhoea and vomiting which left them confined to their cabin and needing to see the ship’s doctor. Both William and Mary have visited their GP since returning to the UK and continue to suffer with symptoms.
William and Mary complained about the quality of the food and hygiene standards, and say they were told that hundreds of passengers had been affected by the outbreak.
Mr Clasper said: “The overall quality of the cruise was terrible. Food was often undercooked and the eggs were extremely runny – a couple of times they were even served to us virtually raw.
“It just seemed like there was a general lack of care by the staff. The ship was generally unclean and it was two days before they came to disinfect our cabin. They just didn’t have enough staff to cope with the outbreak.”
Clive Garner said Irwin Mitchell had received a number of complaints from people who were taken ill while on the ship. He said: “The fact that this liner has been allowed to set sail again so quickly is astounding given the reports of such widespread illness on the preceding cruise.
“Assuming for one moment that the cause of the illness was Norovirus and not Salmonella or other bacterial illness typically caused by poor food hygiene standards, I would have expected a thorough deep cleaning of the whole ship before it was allowed to take on board more passengers. For maximum effect this would normally have taken at least two days.”
Mr Garner added: “We are also concerned about whether passengers were given full and frank information about the scale of the previous problems before boarding and the risks they may be taking by joining the present cruise. Passengers have a right to make an informed decision about whether to go ahead with their holiday. As well as reducing the risk of illness, it is a cruise line’s duty to give full and frank disclosure of risks as soon as they are aware of them.”
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