Hodge Jones & Allen

PRESS RELEASE - 6^th July 2010

 

MoJ admits negligence over bad egg rolls - HMP Wandsworth salmonella cases are a step closer to settlement

 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has admitted breach of duty following an outbreak of salmonella poisoning at HMP Wandsworth in September 2009. Over 300 people fell ill after eating egg cress rolls. It is understood that initially the illness was thought to be swine flu as the timing coincided with last year’s epidemic.  The illnesses experienced by the people affected included diarrhoea and vomiting which lasted in many cases for more than a week.

 

Salmonella is a bacterium, which can be present in raw eggs, poultry and unprocessed milk. It becomes prevalent in food if not cooked properly.  A report by the Health Protection Agency dated 30^th March 2010 criticised the prison for the method used to prepare the eggs used in the egg cress rolls. The report found that hundreds of raw eggs were pooled together and then cooked at an inadequate temperature and for an insufficient time. This meant that just one or two eggs containing salmonella contaminated the whole batch.  It is not possible to guarantee any egg is free from salmonella but provided it is cooked for the right time at a correct temperature this will destroy the bacteria.  

 

During the outbreak the prison was effectively closed and the inmates were confined to their cells.  Stool samples taken from some people confirmed salmonella.  Once this was confirmed it appears that no more samples were taken and so not everyone’s illness was fully investigated with medical examinations and stool samples. Many of the people have complained that the medical care that was provided was insufficient.  However being in prison there was very little they could do about this as the medical care offered was strictly controlled.

 

Hodge Jones & Allen LLP is currently representing 140 of the people who were affected.

 

Simon O’Loughlin, a solicitor who specialises in personal injury claims and who is leading the case for these people comments:

 

“I’m not surprised there is an admission of breach of duty given the findings by the Health Protection Agency and this is very good news for the people in this case as it moves us closer to reaching a settlement. However, salmonella food poisoning usually takes between 12 to 72 hours for symptoms to develop and many people were not tested because by the time they became ill the prison appears to have confirmed what the illness was and stopped testing people.  We now need to move forward with all of these claims individually and see what the approach going to be to those who became ill but weren’t tested for salmonella?”

 

See report in Wandsworth Guardian.