Irwin Mitchell has been approached to act for holidaymakers who travelled to the Bahia Principe, San Juan in the Dominican Republic in May and June 2010, some of who fell ill with unpleasant gastric illness.
The holidaymakers have told us that they fell ill with gastric symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. They were aware of other guests who were staying at the hotel at the same time and who suffered from similar symptoms. The holidaymakers have described worrying examples of very poor food hygiene standards in the hotel. Rats, crabs, birds and insects were often seen in the eating areas. Cold foods not kept chilled, and when lunch service was over the staff simply covered the dishes of food with towels until the evening meal, when the food was uncovered again. Chicken was noted to undercooked on occasion. One shocked holidaymaker describes seeing a waiter laying cutlery on the restaurant tables one morning. She saw him drop the box of cutlery on the dirty floor, pick it up – and continue setting it out on the tables.
The holidaymakers also describe problems with other aspects of the hotel, including a broken patio door, broken air conditioning and no water in the bathrooms meaning no way to flush toilets or wash their hands.
Irwin Mitchell has previously acted for over 1,300 clients who stayed at this hotel between 1997 and 2009. This includes over 1,200 unlucky holidaymakers who stayed there in 2007, many of who fell ill with a range of illnesses including Shigella, Giardia, Salmonella and E Coli. Many of them needed medical treatment, 29 were hospitalised – five after they got back to the UK – and several hundred have suffered long-term effects. Irwin Mitchell has negotiated settlement of 500 of these claims for total compensation of around £3.7m. The remaining claims are proceeding through the courts.
If you also travelled to this hotel and have subsequently suffered from symptoms of gastric illness, Irwin Mitchell would like to hear from you as you may be entitled to claim compensation for your ruined holiday, and also, the pain and suffering caused by the illness that you sustained. For more advice on making a holiday illness claim, contact Irwin Mitchell on 0800 056 0066 or complete our enquiry form and we will call you back.
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