Irwin Mitchell, which is representing claimants, has said increasing numbers of people are joining its personal injury claim against Tui following a spate of Cape Verde infections
Nearly 2,000 Brits who fell ill after contracting suspected stomach bugs during holidays have joined mounting legal action against travel firm TUI.
Law firm Irwin Mitchell said more than 1,700 people have now joined its personal injury claim against the company after they fell ill during holidays to the Cape Verde Islands. Among them, the firm said, were people who believe they had contracted a stomach bug in the West African archipelago as recently as two weeks ago.
Irwin Mitchell lawyers have said they believe up to eight Brits died after they contracted suspected viruses like Salmonella and bacteria during holidays there in recent years.
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Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Irwin Mitchell solicitor Jatinder Paul said he had never seen “a case this large” during his many years of work. He said: “In all my years of doing this work, I have not seen a case this large and unfortunately so many that have died as a result of the illnesses.
“We are pursuing all of our cases against TUI. They had a responsibility in taking our clients away on a package holiday which was not going to cause them any illness. Unfortunately it was the opposite of that.”
Mr Paul warned that the case could come before the High Court, resulting in a payment worth “millions of pounds” to their clients. He said: “If we’re unable to resolve them amicably we expect a judge in the High Court to make an order which would involve payment of millions of pounds worth of damages to our clients.”
TUI said it was investigating the claims brought forward by Irwin Mitchell, with a spokesperson adding the company is “not in a position to provide a statement at this stage”.
The spokesperson added that TUI does “not yet have access to the full Cape Verde health report, which remains unpublished”. Irwin Mitchell said its clients suffered from a mix of E.coli, salmonella and shigella, and even parasitic infections such as cryptosporidium, after they travelled to the archipelago.
An investigation by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in February uncovered 112 reported cases of shigella and 43 of Salmonella since October 2025.
The nasty infections cause a mix of gastrointestinal symptoms, which can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and a high fever. Among Irwin Mitchell’s clients affected by the outbreak were children, the firm said, some of whom were as young as six months when they fell ill.
The firm had previously estimated that six people died during the outbreak, but recently updated its estimates to eight, and the daughter of one woman sho sadly died has directly blamed Tui for her mother’s death.
Liz Pooley, the daughter of Karen Pooley, who died from sepsis and multi-organ failure after she was airlifted from a Cape Verde clinic on October 16, told the BBC about her devastating experience. She said: “No family should go through this, no family should have to FaceTime their mum on a Friday night, and by the following Friday, organise a funeral.”
