Man suffered potentially fatal illness on ‘hellish’ holiday

A Yorkshire man who contracted a potentially fatal form of dysentery while on his honeymoon has received almost £300,000 in an out of court settlement from the holiday company First Choice.

50-year-old Julian Hurley became seriously ill after eating in a Venezuelan hotel in 2004, spending five days in hospital in the UK on his return. Five years later, he still suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress and chronic fatigue. Mr Hurley described the experience as “hellish,” (BBC News, 2009).

Mr Hurley said he was unable to seek medical advice whilst in Venezuela. Back home in Doncaster, he was treated with antibiotics and intravenous drugs at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. He said the food at the all-inclusive Margarita resort was “of an extremely poor standard,” (BBC News, 2009).

First Choice admitted liability for Mr Hurley’s illness, and made a £286,500 settlement. The complexities of Mr Hurley’s health problems five years on from the accident, he explained, had “been very difficult to come to terms with… I am still suffering symptoms to this day, and will do for the rest of my life,” (BBC News, 2009).

Mr Hurley’s solicitors said “It is a tour operator’s responsibility to ensure that standards of hygiene are maintained,” and a spokesperson for First Choice confirmed the company had “made an out-of-court settlement to Mr Hurley in respect of the illness and subsequent health problems which occurred during his stay at this property,” (BBC News, 2009).