Irwin Mitchell are concerned to have received reports of an illness outbreak in Torbay at the Majestic Templestowe Hotel.
Holidaymakers have advised us that they have been struck down with gastric illness within a short time of arriving at the hotel and have been experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting.
It has been confirmed that the Majestic Templestowe hotel is to be closed for a week while a thorough cleaning operation is carried out after 30 hotel customers were affected by the suspected outbreak.
According to some reports, the hotel had previously closed because of earlier problems with illness amongst guests and then re-opened, only for more guests to fall ill.
Illness experts at Irwin Mitchell, who have acted for thousands of people who have suffered illness whilst on holiday at resorts and hotels in the UK and abroad, are concerned that the hotel’s closure, re-opening and then subsequent re-closure may have been due to a failure to eradicate norovirus during the initial closure.
Commenting on the problems in Torbay, Clive Garner, a Partner at Irwin Mitchell and head of the firm’s travel law team, said: "There are clear guidelines to be followed following an outbreak of norovirus, which are there to reduce the risk of infection and to protect the public. If these guidelines are not followed properly and any deep cleaning process is not correctly implemented then this is likely to substantially increase the risk of an outbreak continuing and more people falling ill.
"It is too early to say whether the management of the outbreak at the Majestic hotel has been adequate but this will need to be carefully investigated, not least to determine if lessons need to be learned. This may also have a significant bearing on any civil liability to compensate victims of illness who stayed there."
Concerns have also been raised that the Majestic hotel is not the only one in the area to be affected by the problems in recent weeks and the local council is now working to determine the source of the illness.
Garner continued: "Reports of yet another norovirus outbreak at a popular tourist destination are a major concern, particularly as the summer is just beginning and a growing number of people will be heading on holidays in the coming weeks."
The firm's team of illness specialists are currently acting for nearly 200 clients who fell ill during a suspected norovirus outbreak at the Butlins resort in Bognor Regis.
Clive added: "As well as calling for the local authority and hotel owners to work quickly to determine the cause of the outbreaks and take all possible steps to eradicate them, we also call on hotels that have suffered an outbreak of illness to inform anyone with future bookings. Potential guests should be told of the problems before they arrive. Some potential guests, particularly those with pre-existing health problems may decide to make alternative arrangements rather than risk becoming ill.
"Unfortunately, we have been involved in cases in the past when hotels have failed to do this, essentially putting more people at risk of potentially suffering serious illness. In one such recent landmark case involving another hotel we represented dozens of holidaymakers who succeeded in establishing liability for their illnesses due to a failure to warn them of the risk of staying at the hotel and becoming ill.
"The seriousness of norovirus cannot be underestimated and we have seen many holidaymakers develop long-term health problems as a result of initial norovirus infection."
If you also travelled to this hotel and have subsequently suffered from symptoms of gastric illness, Irwin Mitchell, who specialise in dealing with cases of such nature, would like to hear from you.
For more advice on making a holiday illness claim, contact us on 0800 056 0066 or complete our enquiry form and we will call you back.