Sick holidaymakers to get damages

The Thomson tourists fell ill at a resort in Majorca in 2003

A judge has ruled that one of the UK’s largest tour operators should have warned holidaymakers about an outbreak of illness at a Spanish resort.

The judge said that Thomson, which is now part of the larger European Tui group, was liable for damages.

The case involved claims of personal injury by holidaymakers who stayed at the Son Baulo Hotel in Majorca in 2003.

Thomson said it had been “criticised for not meeting a standard that was impossible to meet”.

The legal action began in 2006.

The claimants contracted either salmonella or cryptosporidium during their stays at the hotel between 7 June and 19 September 2003.

Some of the claimants have suffered long-term health problems as a result.

The cryptosporidium bug was caught from water in the swimming pool and the salmonella from poorly prepared food.

Thomson accepted its liability in the salmonella cases, but argued that in the cases of cryptosporidium, it could not have done more to get rid of the illness from the resort.

In what may have wider implications for the travel industry, the judge also ruled that Thomson ought to have warned guests about the outbreak at the hotel before they travelled, in order to give them an opportunity to either rebook or cancel, but had failed to do so.

“There are obvious and foreseeable risks for guests, particularly for children. The attitude that the travel company knows best is (as this case demonstrates) misconceived… I formed the view that the decision was probably largely motivated by commercial considerations,” Judge Worcester at Birmingham County Court said in his ruling.

Those affected will be told how much compensation they will be offered next month.

Thomson said: “We are very disappointed with the decision as we sincerely believe that we did everything in our power to safeguard our customers’ wellbeing at the time.”

The company said the real winners would be “the ‘no win no fee’ solicitors involved”.

“We would like to reassure all customers that their health and safety is our primary concern when travelling with us.”

The company said it was considering its options for an appeal.

It went on to say that if no appeal was made it would move quickly to resolve the claims from its customers.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.