Mother, 62, dies after falling ill during dream holiday to celebrate her birthday at five-star Cape Verde resort: ‘Devastated’ widower takes legal action after wife passed away without getting to meet her grandchild
- EXCLUSIVE: 350 guests at Riu Palace Hotel are taking legal action after falling ill
A ‘devastated’ widower whose his wife died after she fell ill during their dream holiday to a five-star resort in Cape Verde is now one of 350 guests taking legal action against TUI.
Jane Pressley, from Gainsborough, travelled to the Riu Palace Hotel in Santa Maria with her husband Michael for a two-week holiday to celebrate her birthday in November last year.
Two days into her stay, the mother-of-two, who was also due to become a grandmother for the first time, fell ill with gastric and flu-like symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea.
After she returned home, Jane’s illness worsened and she was admitted to hospital, where she died in January. ‘While nothing will ever bring her back,’ her husband said, ‘we need some answers. It’s the least we deserve.’
It comes after British holidaymakers reported cases of sickness at the hotel late last year, with tourists claiming they had been served what looked like raw chicken and food covered in flies, as well as reporting a strong sulphur smell at the hotel.
Jane Pressley, from Gainsborough, fell ill after travelling to the Riu Palace Hotel in Cape Verde
The Riu palace Hotel, Santa Maria. 350 guests who stayed at the hotel last year are taking legal action against TUI, their lawyers have said
Michael is now taking legal action after he and his wife fell ill during their dream holiday
During their stay, both Jane and Michael became unwell. While he recovered within a week, Jane, who had a pre-existing condition of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, continued to be extremely unwell.
After the couple returned home, Jane’s illness worsened and she was taken to hospital on Christmas Eve.
The doctors treating her suspected she had a bacterial infection so she was administered antibiotics. She tragically died less than two weeks later on 5 January, aged 62.
Following her death, Michael, 62, instructed lawyers at Irwin Mitchell, who have now launched a case against TUI in connection with Jane’s illness and death as well as Michael’s illness.
Jatinder Paul, an international injury lawyer at the firm who is representing Michael, said: ‘The first-hand account we’ve heard from Michael regarding the illness he and Jane suffered during their holiday is deeply concerning.
‘While Michael began to feel better within the first week, Jane’s illness continued and she sadly passed away in hospital less than a month after returning home from their holiday.
‘We’re representing more than 350 others who fell seriously ill at this hotel in 2022. Therefore this latest development is of significant concern. The impact of such illnesses should never be downplayed as they can lead to long-term health issues and in some cases can prove fatal.
After the couple returned home, Jane’s illness worsened and she was taken to hospital on Christmas Eve. Pictured on holiday
‘While nothing will ever make up for Michael’s loss, we’re now investigating how he and Jane fell ill and the events leading up to Jane’s death. If during the course of our investigation any issues are identified, it’s vital that lessons are learned to prevent other holidaymakers from falling ill, or worse, in the future.’
Care assistant Jane and Michael, a food production operative, arrived at the Riu Palace resort on the island west of Africa, on 27 November, 2022, and returned to the UK on 12 December.
Over the following weeks, Jane’s condition deteriorated and she was taken to hospital, where she later passed away.
On her death certificate, her cause of death was confirmed to be ‘infective exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.’
Jane leaves two daughters, Lucy Ambrose, 37, an office manager, and Porcia Stow, 30, a customer advisor. At the time of Jane’s death, Porcia was pregnant with her first child.
Michael said: ‘Jane and I had been looking forward to our holiday for such a long time, so we were really upset when we both fell ill.
‘Within a week, my symptoms began to alleviate but Jane’s seemed to get worse. It was awful to see her so unwell and not able to enjoy our time away, but not for one minute did we expect it to continue when we got home.
‘By Christmas Eve, we were all very worried about Jane and felt she needed hospital treatment. When we were told she might have a bacterial infection, it made sense as we had heard of others that had holidayed at the same place and had also been unwell.
‘We thought she would get some antibiotics and she’d be fine. To then see her die within a few weeks is hard to accept.
‘It’s been less than six months since we lost Jane and it’s a struggle every day to understand what happened. To lose her so suddenly has absolutely devastated us all. She was the most amazing person and enjoyed nothing more than being around family; we’re all totally lost without her. She never even got to meet her grandchild.’
Jane leaves two daughters, Lucy Ambrose, 37, an office manager, and Porcia Stow, 30, a customer advisor
In November last year, reports emerged of other guests at the hotel who had been struck down with gastric illness.
Then, 80 British holidaymakers who had stayed at the hotel between May and October 2022 were said to be taking action after their dream trip turned into a ‘holiday from hell’.
Among those affected were Nichola Morley, 52, from Paignton and her partner Darren Cartwright, 57, from Torquay who travelled to the Riu Palace in May for a two-week break to celebrate Mr Cartwright’s recovery from cancer.
Just one day into their long awaited holiday, Ms Morley began to suffer from stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea, and the following day her partner began to experience similar symptoms.
After several days of not eating the pair went to hospital where they were both put on a drip. On arriving back in the UK Ms Morley was placed on a course of antibiotics by her GP and spent three weeks recovering.
Nichola Morley, 52, and her partner Darren Cartwright, 57, (pictured) are among 80 British holidaymakers who have launched legal action after being struck down with gastric illness during their stay at a luxury five-star hotel in Cape Verde
Ms Morley said: ‘We had been looking forward to our holiday for quite some time, but within a day I was really unwell.
‘Darren fell ill the following day and he even began hallucinating. We called reception a number of times for help and to ask for a doctor but no-one came.
‘We ended up taking ourselves to hospital and were both put on a drip. By this point, we were both so weak as we hadn’t eaten for several days.
‘On the last day of our trip, we thought it would be a good idea to try and eat a little bit to keep our strength up for the journey home. When we got there, the salad was covered in flies. I grabbed a bit of bread and small piece of turkey, but when I cut it open it was pink inside.
‘This was only a few days after I had complained about bloody chicken and I couldn’t believe it was still happening. It’s no wonder people were ill.
‘When we got home, I spent around three weeks at home, mostly in bed recovering. I really wish we had never booked the holiday, it turned into a total nightmare. All we can hope for now is some answers; it’s the least we deserve.’
TUI UK Ltd and RIU Hotels have been contacted for comment.
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