Senior Associate, Holiday Claims
Updated on 25/04/2022
If you contracted Salmonella on holiday then you may be entitled to compensation.
Our Holiday Claims Solicitors have years of experience of helping clients obtain compensation following a holiday sickness. For example:
Contact us for a free, initial consultation and we’ll look at the details of your claim. Ask if we can deal with your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.
We're rated‘Excellent’Salmonella is a bacterial infection that can badly affect the digestive system and one of the most common gastric illnesses among holidaymakers, particularly at hotels and resorts in Egypt, Cuba, Mexico, Cape Verde and the Dominican Republic.
Salmonella can be contracted by holidaymakers in various ways, including:
Reptiles can also carry salmonella and even cats, dogs and rodents can become infected.
Common symptoms include:
Salmonella usually takes between 6 to 72 hours to incubate, with symptoms usually lasting for anywhere between a few days and several weeks, although some children aged under 5 can carry the bacteria for 12 months after symptoms emerge.
Whilst most people only have acute symptoms for around 4-7 days and can recover without any specific treatment, other illnesses can develop. Possible complications include:
If you’ve recently been on holiday and have experienced these symptoms, it’s important to get medical attention as soon as possible.
Salmonella infections can easily be prevented if food handlers at resorts and restaurants follow basic health and safety procedures. At the very least, your tour operator should ensure that the food handlers at your hotel or resort have been educated on the importance of hand washing and making sure food is cooked or refrigerated to the right temperatures before, during and after food preparation.
They should also ensure that cooked and raw produce are kept separate to reduce the risk of cross contamination.
If there’s been a breakdown in any of these procedures and you’ve contracted Salmonella as a result, you may be entitled to claim compensation. The 2018 Package Travel and Linked Travel Regulations place responsibility for the safety of your hotel on your tour operator – as long as you have booked a package holiday.
This includes every aspect of your holiday that was sold to you for a single price, such as elements that are offered by third party suppliers, which may include the airline you flew with, the hotel you stayed at and resort restaurants you ate at.
While your tour operator might insist that you prove your illness was caused by the food that you ate or poor hygiene at your resort, you shouldn’t be put off making a claim.
Unfortunately, it is our experience that the largest tour operators will do all they can to wriggle out of paying you compensation. That is why it is important to contact a lawyer with specialist food poisoning expertise because they can help you with the evidence you need to help you prove your claim.
If you stayed at an all-inclusive resort and are adamant that most of the food was eaten the hotel complex for at least 72 hours before your symptoms started, your holiday sickness claim should be straightforward.
While a Salmonella outbreak can happen anywhere, our Holiday Claims Solicitors have handled a particularly large number of claims from people who’ve been to the following holiday destinations:
If you suffer the symptoms of a Salmonella infection, you should report it immediately to your holiday rep and insist on seeing an independent doctor as soon as possible. Don’t accept any suggestions that you’ve simply picked up a mysterious airborne virus and get a professional medical diagnosis and treatment. Doing so may salvage the remainder of your holiday.
The chances are you will not even be tested while abroad for salmonella so you should arrange a stool sample with your GP as soon as you return to the UK.
If you do receive medical attention, obtain a written diagnosis from a doctor or hospital. Then contact your insurance company as medical costs can be very high, particularly if overnight hospital treatment is required.
If your illness has been caused by the neglect of your tour operator or any third party suppliers, you may be able to make a successful claim for compensation.
Our Holiday Claims Solicitors offer free legal advice and can value of your claim within minutes. Your tour operator may try to put you off from pursuing the true value of your compensation claim, but at Simpson Millar, we will strive to obtain all the compensation that you’re entitled to.
Cryptosporidium can be caused by consumption of contaminated water or through in swimming pools, so if you booked an all-inclusive holiday and fell ill due to hygiene failings at your hotel, you may be entitled to compensation.
Legionnaires’ disease is a lung infection which can occur if you inhale water droplets contaminated with the Legionella bacteria, and is usually caught in places where the bacteria has got into the water supply.
Shigella is a bacterial infection that can cause dysentery and lead to many unpleasant symptoms, from fever and bloody diarrhoea to inflammation of the intestines. So if you contracted Shigella on holiday, you may be entitled to compensation.
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