Holidaymaker wins 10-year compensation battle with Tui over upset stomach at Turkey hotel
A holidaymaker has won a decade-long compensation battle with Tui after suffering an upset stomach while on holiday in Turkey.
Peter Griffiths, 61, suffered a “serious stomach upset” at the Aqua Fantasy Aqua Park hotel in Izmir in 2014, leaving him with “long-term problems”, a judgment stated.
Judges in a county court and subsequently the Court of Appeal had previously ruled against Mr Griffith’s allegation that his illness was caused as a result of eating at an all-inclusive hotel.
But earlier this month, five Supreme Court justices ruled in his favour after a report by a medical expert, outlining how Mr Griffiths’s hotel’s health and hygiene standards caused his illness, was originally rejected by a county court in 2019.
Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lord Hodge, concluded Mr Griffiths did not originally have a fair trial.
He said the expert had “opined that on the balance of probabilities, the food or drink served at the hotel was the cause of Mr Griffiths’ stomach upset”.
‘Justice has been served’
However Tui had never required the expert to attend a county court trial for cross-examination and instead had satisfied the trial judge that “deficiencies in the expert’s report” meant Mr Griffiths had “failed to prove his case”.
Describing The Court of Appeal and the trial judge as having “erred in law in a significant way”, Lord Hodge said: “The question is whether the trial judge was entitled to find that the claimant had not proved his case when the claimant’s expert had given uncontroverted evidence as to the cause of the illness.”
Expecting to be granted compensation of about £30,000, Mr Griffiths said: “Following so many years of litigation, my case has taken a toll on my family and I, but I now feel vindicated that justice has been served by the highest court in the land, allowing us to move on with our lives.”
After the ruling, lawyer Jatinder Paul, who represented Mr Griffiths said: “It’s been tough for Peter since 2014, dealing with the ongoing effects of his illness while also dealing with a David v Goliath legal battle against a tour operator with very deep pockets.”
