Ludlow hotel admits failures following high-profile Legionnaires’ outbreak

Lawyers representing the family of a Liverpool woman who died from Legionnaires’ disease after staying at the Feathers Hotel in Ludlow say they have received an admission of civil liability from the hotel.

Elaine Brown passed away aged 69 at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on August 26 2017 after suffering a stroke as a result of Legionnaires’ disease, which emerged just days after she stayed at the hotel with her husband Graham on July 31 as part of a coach tour excursion.

The Feathers Hotel voluntarily closed after her death, prompting Public Health England (PHE) to release details of another case that emerged in April 2017, whereby another guest had contracted the infection after staying at the same hotel. Fortunately, this guest, also from Merseyside, went on to make a full recovery. The PHE investigation is ongoing and their formal Outbreak Report is awaited.

Elaine’s family instructed Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Public Health team to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death, and to determine whether more could have been done to protect her, or indeed whether she and her husband should even have been allowed to stay at the hotel following the previous reports of the illness in April.

Now, their legal team at Irwin Mitchell have received an admission of liability for the civil claim from the hotel. This paves the way for a future settlement agreement for Elaine Brown’s family.

Jatinder Paul, an Associate Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell who is representing Elaine’s family, said: “It is over six months since Elaine passed away and her family remain understandably devastated and angry at their avoidable loss.

“Whilst we welcome the admission of liability by the Hotel as a positive step forward for the family in this legal action, ultimately the hotel’s decision to take responsibility for its failures cannot turn the time back and Graham has lost his dear wife.”