Food Poisoning on Holiday

As the weather gets warmer, everyone is looking forward to their summer holidays.  Most of us (especially those with school children) will be patiently waiting for the six weeks school holiday to finally be able to enjoy their long-awaited holiday abroad.  Whilst most of us will have an enjoyable time, some of us may not be as fortunate and could fall ill, ruining the holiday.  

There are various types of illness that can occur on holiday, with the most common of them all, food poisoning caused by salmonella poisoning, campylobacter virus.  Symptoms of food poisoning include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea, sickness and raised temperature amongst others.  Are you entitled to compensation for food poisoning if you suffered them abroad?  The short answer is yes you are, so long as you were on a package holiday.  For more general information regarding holiday sickness claims, please click on this link: Accidents and Illnesses Abroad

It is important that if you have suffered an illness whilst on holiday, that you seek medical attention immediately, be it from the hotel you are staying with, or the local hospital.  If you are able, get a stool sample but ensure that you retain any records or reports from the hospital.  If you are still suffering from symptoms after your return from holiday, you should also attend your own GP/A&E (depending on the severity of your symptoms).  In food poisoning cases, you should make a note of all the food and drinks you have consumed in the past few days.  This is important when trying to show the cause of your food poisoning.  You should take into account how long after you started your holiday that you started suffering from your symptoms as to how far back you should go when making your note.  It goes without saying that you should also ensure you are honest when completing any questionnaires/surveys about your holiday.