Have a question?
033 3772 0409

Personal Injury Solicitors

Prison sentences “likely” for pub landlady and chef, after Christmas Day diner is killed by infected meat (26 November 2014)

Date: 26/11/2014
Duncan Lewis, Personal Injury Solicitors, Prison sentences “likely” for pub landlady and chef, after Christmas Day diner is killed by infected meat

A husband whose wife died from food poisoning after eating reheated food at a pub has told Snaresbrook Crown Court that she began shaking and her eyes “rolled back into her head” the day after eating the Christmas meal at the Railway Hotel in Hornchurch, Essex in 2012.

The Daily Mail reports that mother-of-one Della Callagher, 46, was one of 33 diners to fall ill after the meal. She died in Queen’s Hospital, Romford on 27 December from the infection Clostridium C. Difficile – also known as C.diff.

The court heard that, following the outbreak of food poisoning at the hotel, the landlady Anne-Marie McSweeney, 40, and chef Mehmet Kaya, 37, prevented health inspectors from taking samples by getting rid of any waste food – and also forged kitchen records relating to the temperature of the meat served.

The court found them guilty of perverting the course of justice for falsifying food safety records.

Pub chain Mitchells and Butler was found guilty of found guilty of placing unsafe food – namely turkey meat – on the market by not ensuring food hygiene rules were followed.

Diners had paid £39.95 each for the Christmas Day lunch, which had been cooked the previous day and then reheated using a hotplate and a microwave before serving.

The prosecution told the court that the food had not been cooled properly after it was first cooked – and was then not reheated sufficiently before being served the next day.

Sentencing was adjourned until 8 January pending pre-sentencing reports.

Judge Alastair Hammerton told McSweeney of Suttons Avenue in Hornchurch, Essex and Kaya of Waterlane, Purfleet in Essex that it was “very likely” they would receive immediate prison sentences, however.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – Poisoning Claims

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise on making no win no fee Poisoning Claims for illness and injury which results from the negligence of a third party, including poisoning claims involving:

• Allergies (eg nut allergies, fish poisoning)
• Carbon monoxide poisoning (eg faulty boilers, heaters, cookers)
• Chemical poisoning (eg over-exposure to chlorine)
• Food poisoning (eg Campylobacter, C.diff, Cryptosporidium, Listeria)
• Fumes (eg gas, industrial fumes)
• Hazardous materials (eg insecticides, rodenticides, preservatives in furniture, lead)
• Holiday food poisoning (eg Salmonella, E.coli, Gardiosis, Shigella)
• Prescribing errors (eg prescription overdoses, medical negligence).

Personal injury claimants have three years from the date of illness or diagnosis in which to make a no win no fee poisoning claim – and children can claim for up to three years after the age of 18.

Duncan Lewis is also able to advise the families of those who have lost their lives as a result of poisoning on how to make a no win no fee Fatal Injuries Claim.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Poisoning Claims, call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


For all Personal Injury related matter contact us now.Contact Us

Call us now on 033 3772 0409 or click here to send online enquiry.
Duncan Lewis is the trading name of Duncan Lewis (Solicitors) Limited. Registered Office is 143-149 Fenchurch St, London, EC3M 6BL. Company Reg. No. 3718422. VAT Reg. No. 718729013. A list of the company's Directors is displayed at the registered offices address. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority . Offices all across London and in major cities in the UK. ©Duncan Lewis >>Legal Disclaimer, Copyright & Privacy Policy. Duncan Lewis do not accept service by email.