Tui may be forced to pay compensation to 49 holidaymakers who fell ill at a hotel in Majorca after a judge ruled in their favour today.
A judge at Birmingham Country Court found in favour of the guests who contracted salmonella and cryptosporidium at the Hotel Son Baulo in Ca’n Picafort in 2003. The ruling followed a ten day trial.
Irwin Mitchell, the legal firm who acted for the tourists, said the case set “an important legal precedent recognising a tour operator’s duty to warn potential guests about an ongoing outbreak of illness at a hotel and the risk of them falling ill”.
Tui said it was very disappointed with the decision and was considering an appeal. A statement said: “We have been criticised for not meeting a standard that is impossible to meet, as a consequence we are currently considering our options in respect of an appeal.
“If no appeal is made we will resolve the claims from our customers as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, however, the no-win no-fee solicitors involved will undoubtedly be the real financial winners of this action.”
The operator said the hotel had an exemplary health and safety record with extremely low levels of sickness.
However, the judge criticised Tui for continuing to send families to the resort despite being aware of the problems.
His Honour Judge Worcester said there were “failings in the scope and implementation of the faecal accident policy, and absence of any effective poolside enforcement or monitoring, an inadequate pool maintenance programme…and a failure to abide by Thomson’s or the hotel’s own guidance.”
He added: “Those measures were all the more necessary given that Thomsons and the hotel knew or should have known of the problem cryptosporidium presented in a swimming pool, that there was an outbreak on the island.”