The High Court has dismissed a landlord's appeal against a decision that a pub company was...
A woman from Bradford who became seriously ill while on holiday at Butlins in Skegness, after eating a muffin to which she was allergic, is set to receive compensation.
Clare Garbutt, 28, suffers from coeliac disease, which means that she cannot eat food containing gluten. She had taken her own supply of gluten-free muffins to have as desserts on the four-day holiday. The restaurant staff were aware of her dietary requirements and were happy to prepare food for her.
Unfortunately, on the second day of her holiday, a mistake in preparing the custard accompanying the muffin she had supplied meant that her dessert was ruined and so staff replaced the muffin with one from the resort shop. Ms Garbutt was assured that the replacement muffin was also gluten-free. However, when she consumed it she began to be violently sick. After half an hour she was sweating profusely and feeling dizzy.
Ms Garbutt’s holiday was ruined because of the incident. She spent the remaining time in her room in great discomfort and developed a chronic bowel infection. After returning home, she visited her GP and was prescribed a course of strong antibiotics.
She made a complaint to Butlins, which initially offered her £28, which was the value of the food she had eaten, and an upgrade on a future holiday. Not satisfied, she then wrote to the company’s head office and received an offer of £100 as a gesture of goodwill. It was only after Ms Garbutt had consulted a solicitor that Butlins accepted liability for her illness. The exact amount of the compensation payable is yet to be agreed.