Egypt hotel deaths – is it finally time for holiday companies to start taking illness claims seriously?’

An Egyptian hotel where a British couple died suddenly last month had already been subject to numerous sickness claims, it has been reported this week, and at Graham Coffey & Co we are able to reveal that we have dealt with claims stretching back over three years ago.

John and Susan Cooper died after falling ill at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hurghada on 21 August with Egypt’s general prosecutor stating that post-mortem examinations showed that E. coli bacteria had been a factor in both the deaths. The couple’s daughter has already expressed her disbelief at this finding, as her parents showed no symptoms consistent with E. coli infection prior to the death. Their bodies have now been returned to the UK for post-mortems, the results of which could take months. Although their cause of death at present remains unconfirmed, there is no question that there have been immense failings in the hotels procedures for protecting the well-being of their guests. The sheer number of complaints and illness claims against the hotel should have been enough to raise concerns that safety levels were well below the acceptable standard.

Graham Coffey & Co have dealt with several claims from guests at the hotel who fell ill with gastroenteritis, with one of our clients lodging complaints with the hotel’s reception as far back as November 2015. These particular clients reported under-cooked food, food being left out for long periods surrounded by flies, and a lack of basic hygienic practices such as wearing gloves. On advising staff of their severe food poisoning symptoms, the clients were merely directed to the local pharmacy to pay for medication out of their own pocket.

In our clients case, Thomas Cook investigated the matter and subsequently made an offer of compensation, clearly acknowledging that there was a problem. Yet, we then acted for another client whose illness occurred in June 2016, and they too reported under-cooked food and food being left out, along with watered down drinks. Furthermore, it is also our understanding that there have been many more similar claims with various other solicitors firms, indicating that Thomas Cook were receiving a worrying amount of formal complaints regarding the hotel but continued to send their customers to the resort anyway.

Meanwhile, the most recent development in the ongoing investigation into Mr and Mrs Cooper’s deaths, reveals that Thomas Cook’s own food and hygiene tests have now identified a high level of E. coli and staphylococcus present at the hotel.

In the past, it seems that Thomas Cook were willing to compensate customers who had fallen ill at Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel. However, judging by the continuing problems, they have clearly failed to take any remedial action to protect future holiday makers travelling to the same resort.

In the last year holiday firms have reported a huge rise in sickness claims and their stance regarding compensating customers has changed dramatically. Clearly, the increase in claimants is not due solely to a rise in illness, but is instead likely to be driven by an awareness that it is possible to make a claim for food poisoning suffered on all-inclusive package holidays.

However, holiday companies appear to have reached the point where they cannot (or will not) cope with the sheer volume of claims being submitted and are taking a stance whereby claimants are not being believed unless they win their case at court.

Could this be leading to complacency on the part of holiday firms?

There is also a question over whether government complacency has a part to play after the holiday industry raised the issue of increased sickness claims with them. Their cause for concern was solely in relation to the costs to the travel industry and tour operators, which they attribute to fraudulent claims. As a result, the government restricted the legal fees that could be recovered when pursuing a claim to protect the holiday company shareholders. It appears that the steps the government have taken are focused solely on reducing the number claims being made, regardless of whether they are legitimate or not. Is this another case of the government putting profits before people? Surely a more consumer focused investigation would help tackle the issue of increased sickness at the source, with the goal being to investigate and eliminate the causes of illness itself.

Undoubtably there will have been fraudulent sickness claims made against holiday companies recently, and their frustration is understandable. But while they have a right to investigate the claims made against them to be sure that they are legitimate, holiday companies, and ultimately the government, should also be taking customers’ complaints seriously.

At the moment it seems as though all claimants are being tarred with the same brush and being labelled as fraudsters, but perhaps it is time that holiday companies started investigating whether the hotels that they partner with are acting legitimately as well. For example, a recent trial against Thomas Cook regarding illness at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel cumulated in a finding that food safety logs had not been properly kept and had been written by only one person, as opposed to the four people who had signed it. The investigations following John and Susan’s death only add to the concerns that key information that could shed some light on this tragedy is being withheld from the appropriate authorities.

Thomas Cook’s swift removal of all their guests staying at the Steigenberger following last month’s tragic incident was commendable, but it is truly shocking that it has taken such an event to finally force the company to look more closely at the resort - particularly when Thomas Cook was already on notice of so many other illnesses and complaints regarding the hotel. Of course this is all too little too late for Susan and John Cooper and their family.

Perhaps this will serve as the long awaited turning point where holiday companies will stop dismissing their own customers and labelling them ‘fraudulent’ and will start to look more carefully at their own inspection systems and procedures for dealing with complaints, which are clearly not working.

We hope that the investigations into Susan and John’s deaths come to a swift conclusion and that the couple’s family get the answers that they deserve.

Lucy Broughton