Families sue holiday firms

HUNDREDS of British holidaymakers fell ill after leading tour operators sent them to hotels in the Dominican Republic despite knowing of health problems there, it is claimed.

A firm of lawyers is handling 20 cases for compensation for travellers who say their Thomas Cook and Thomson holidays on the Caribbean island were wrecked by debilitating illness.

Among them are a couple who were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary with their daughter and her boyfriend, who were at the same time celebrating their engagement.

The younger members of the party infected with the virus ended up on intravenous drips in their room at the five-star Club Hotel Riu Mambo.

Other holidaymakers fell ill at its nearby sister hotels, Riu Merengue and Riu Bachata.

All-inclusive 14-night breaks at Riu hotels have been advertised for £919 per person with some operators. The compensation claims are being handled by Manchester solicitors Pannone and Partners, which expects the number of claimants to rise.

Partner Andrew Morton said: 'It beggars belief that tour operators continued to send customers to these three hotels.

'US and Canadian firms stopped sending tourists there as far back as January, but Thomas Cook and Thomson were still assuring customers that there were no problems, despite evidence to the contrary.'

The wedding anniversary couple, who come from Buckinghamshire and have not been named, had sought reassurances beforehand about the resort and hotel because of the husband's heart condition and recent surgery undergone by their daughter.

In a statement issued by Pannone, it is claimed their symptoms were misdiagnosed as 'tummy upset' and that they were given 'wholly inappropriate' medication.

The mother said: 'It was horrendous. Used needles and drips were just dumped in bins in the hotel room and we never saw the doctor or nurse wash their hands before or after treatment.'

Mr Morton says both tour companies have offered 'a few hundred pounds' compensation, but he has advised against accepting it.

The Dominican Republic, which has more than 200,000 British visitors a year, earned the nickname the 'Septic Isle' after a spate of food poisoning incidents. In 1997 an outbreak affected 500 holidaymakers staying at 35 hotels and three women also caught typhoid.

A survey by the Consumers' Association the following year found that seven out of eight hotels were serving meat contaminated with bacteria including E.coli.

Stricter food hygiene practices were introduced, but it is feared standards have slipped again.

Thomson and Thomas Cook have both stopped sending holidaymakers to the three hotels in the latest compensation case. 'Customers are being offered alternative accommodation or their money back,' said a Thomson spokesman yesterday.

Both operators say they sent out health inspectors as soon as they were aware guests had become ill. Their reports suggested the bug was airborne and passed from human to human and had nothing to do with hotel hygiene standards.