Claiming for holiday sickness

Ellie51

Cutting a long story short....
We went to Mexico in May and I fell ill a couple of days into the trip. I was stuck in the hotel room for about 10 days (of a 14 night holiday):(. The doctor was called and we had to complete forms for the hotel. My husband caught it too. I was in contact with TUI via chat, but we were basically left stranded. Both my husband and I had norovirus and I ended up with colitis.
Obviously, I want to try to get some compensation. I emailed TUI and had no reply, so now I want to take it further. There is a company that uses your household insurance to pay legal fees, rather than a no win no fee. But which is best? Any recommendations would be lovely. Martin :money: mentioned one on This Morning, but he speaks so quickly (and I think it was before we went) I missed it.
TIA Ellie51

sazaccount

Hi
Did you have travel insurance? They will probably best the best route to go down.

Gloomendoom

How many other people in the hotel became ill with the same thing at the same time?

Keep_pedalling

Norovirus can be picked up simply from contact from an object touched by an infected person. Unless large numbers of people in the hotel went down with this suggesting the source of the infection was from one of the catering staff you have no chance,

And please don’t try no win no fee ambulance chasers, unless you want to risk being sued by the hotel for a fake claim.

antrobus

Ellie51 wrote: »

....;)
Obviously, I want to try to get some compensation. I emailed TUI and had no reply, so now I want to take it further. There is a company that uses your household insurance to pay legal fees, rather than a no win no fee. But which is best? Any recommendations would be lovely. Martin :money: mentioned one on This Morning, but he speaks so quickly (and I think it was before we went) I missed it.
....

Why do you believe that the hotel, and therefore TUI are responsible? Granted, norovirus can be contracted by eating contaminated food, but contact with someone with norovirus or touching an infected surface will do just as well.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/norovirus/

You would need some kind of evidence to suggest that on the balance of probability you contracted it at the hotel as the result of their negligence. You might have caught it in the UK shortly before departure, on the plane, at either airport, or in Mexico as a result of something unconnected with the hotel.

Alan_Bowen

If you have legal cover with your household insurance, that is the best way to go. As others have said it isn't always easy to prove but if this hotel was all inclusive it does seem to be easier and you did contact the operator whilst you were in the resort. It seems that you have had ongoing issues from your return home so hopefully, your doctor will be able to confirm the link with norovirus.

The travel industry is rife with false claims of illness which is why so many people try to put you off but those with genuine claims should go ahead, Mexico is on my list of "never again" countries so I understand your feelings, if not your pain!

Ellie51

Thank you all.
I don’t know if anyone else was ill as I was stuck in my room. There was no way I was faking it!! I went all inclusive and lost over a stone. In addition we were in contact with the concierge, who witnessed the state I was in. We went to the GP when we got home and the bugs had been cleared, although it took us both a while to get back on our feet. The timeframe meant I either picked the bug up on the plane or at the hotel. My husband obviously picked it up from me. I paid over £200 for a spa, which I couldn’t take part in, and a bottle of ‘champagne’ that was never drunk.

Ellie51

sazaccount wrote: »

Hi
Did you have travel insurance? They will probably best the best route to go down.

Yes. We managed to claim for some of my medical bill.

elsien

Ellie51 wrote: »

Thank you all.
I don’t know if anyone else was ill as I was stuck in my room. There was no way I was faking it!! I went all inclusive and lost over a stone. In addition we were in contact with the concierge, who witnessed the state I was in. We went to the GP when we got home and the bugs had been cleared, although it took us both a while to get back on our feet. The timeframe meant I either picked the bug up on the plane or at the hotel.My husband obviously picked it up from me. I paid over £200 for a spa, which I couldn’t take part in, and a bottle of ‘champagne’ that was never drunk.

And that's potentially going to be your problem with no other evidence - how do you prove on the balance of probabilities which of those it was? Is there anything on trip advisor about issues with illness at the hotel at the time you were there?

shaun_from_Africa

Ellie51 wrote: »

The timeframe meant I either picked the bug up on the plane or at the hotel.

Or quite possibly, at the airport.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2018/09/04/going-security-airports-could-make/

NoodleDoodleMan

The doctor was called and we had to complete forms for the hotel

Do you have a copy of the form retained by the hotel - and a receipt for the doctor's visit ?

Did your husband also require a separate doctor's visit, and did you complete the same paperwork again ?

Did the doctor diagnose Norovirus and/or Colitis ?