A family from south Wales has successfully sued Thomas Cook after falling ill at an Egyptian hotel where a British couple later died. The family of four suffered vomiting and diarrhoea while on holiday at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada in April 2016.
Their solicitors uncovered food hygiene failings at the resort, leading to a court order for Thomas Cook to pay £26,000 in compensation and costs. The case was heard at Newport County Court in July this year, with the family accusing the holiday firm of failing to ensure food and drink were safe for consumption and allowing food to be re-served or reused.
Law firm JMW Solicitors, representing the family, said the parents and their two daughters, then aged five and six, developed gastric illness within a day of each other. Partner Joanne Brine noted that symptoms persisted for months after the trip. During the trial, food safety logs were found to be improperly kept, with a handwriting expert discovering that signatures on logs had been forged by a single person.
The family complained to Thomas Cook upon returning home but received no satisfactory response, prompting legal action. The payout included approximately £8,000 in damages and the remainder for legal costs. Ms Brine highlighted the importance of understanding whether Thomas Cook acted on concerns raised years before the deaths of John and Susan Cooper, who died at the same hotel on August 21.
Thomas Cook stated that customer safety is its top priority and that it audits all 3,000 core hotels annually. A spokesman confirmed that 47 hotels have been removed for health and safety reasons this year, and a further 150 for not meeting quality criteria. The Steigenberger Aqua Magic was last audited in July 2018.
