The family of a milk-allergic mum who was killed by a supposedly ‘dairy-free’ Pret a Manger sandwich have won millions in a settlement.
Dental nurse Celia Marsh, 42, collapsed after eating a ‘vegan rainbow’ flatbread sandwich in Bath on a post-Christmas shopping trip with her husband and three of her daughters in December 2017.
Mrs Marsh, who was allergic to milk, thought the sandwich contained a safe coconut yoghurt alternative. Unknown to her, it was contaminated with milk protein.
She began to feel unwell shortly after eating the sandwich and collapsed after giving herself a shot with her EpiPen.
Although an ambulance rushed her to hospital, she was dead by 4 pm.
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An inquest previously heard the mum ‘religiously avoided’ dairy after a near-fatal experience months earlier, when she needed 15 shots of adrenaline after suffering an allergic reaction.
Following the inquest into her death in 2022, the senior coroner for Avon, Maria Voisin, blamed her death on the contaminated sandwich, writing in her report: ‘A product which is marked ‘dairy-free’ should be free from dairy.’
Mrs Marsh’s husband, Andy, who described her as his ‘best friend,’ then launched a High Court compensation claim on behalf of his family against the high street cafe chain and the product’s manufacturer, Planet Coconut Ltd.
Following out-of-court negotiations, Mr Marsh has now agreed to settle the claim, with lawyers yesterday revealing in court that the family will receive a total of £1.25m.
Judge Master Mark Gidden was told that Pret will be responsible for 25% of the payout, with Planet Coconut’s insurers liable for the rest.
Coroner Voisin added: ‘The contamination arose because an ingredient in the yoghurt called HG1 had become cross-contaminated with milk protein during its manufacture.
‘The manufacturer of the dairy-free yoghurt had in its possession documents which flagged this risk, but this risk was not passed on to its customers.’
Following the inquest, her eldest daughter, Ashleigh Grice, said her mum had lived in ‘constant’ fear about food labelling.
The hearing, conducted via a video link at the High Court in London, was in order for Master Gidden to approve one specific part of the settlement, which he said he was ‘content’ to do.
In 2022, an inquest heard that a schoolgirl who died from a suspected severe allergic reaction after drinking a hot chocolate at Costa Coffee may have been served cows’ milk after a ‘miscommunication’.
Hannah Jacobs, 13, had suffered from an allergy to dairy, fish and eggs since she was a toddler. The teen died within hours of taking one sip of the drink on February 8, 2022, East London Coroner’s Court was told.
Urmi Akter took the order for the takeaway drinks from Hannah’s mother, Abimbola Duyile. Ms Akter used her legal right, under coroners’ rules, not to answer a series of questions that could be seen as incriminating as she gave evidence at the inquest on Tuesday. They related to her training, understanding, knowledge and actions as she was being given the order.
The court has heard that Hannah suffered an ‘immediate reaction’ after a just one sip of the takeaway drink that her mother bought before attending a dentist appointment- she was declared dead by 1pm that day, her family’s lawyers said.
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