Milk allergy death- should the book be thrown at the staff involved?

[mids2019]

....or if you are minimum wage staff member working in a stressed environment without English as a first language there should be leniency. Doctors are paid for life and death decisions but are Costa staff?

You might need to link to what you are talking about?

Usuall it comes down to the training and processes in place by the employer. These are there to reduce the risk. You can’t ever remove the risk, humans make mistakes.

‘Miscommunication’ over Costa drinks order may have led to girl’s death https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/13/miscommunication-over-costa-drinks-order-may-have-led-to-girls-death?CMP=share_btn_url

I think we are responsible for our own well-being. Minimum wage staff should not be held accountable. And I do say this as someone who does not generally consume anything that isn’t prepackaged when out and about in case of mistakes!

Sounds like there was training but the staff involved really didn't seem logical?

They were being responsible! The mum repeated herself numerous times to make sure the staff understood.

No, because if someone has such a reactive allergy then they really should not risk any food or drink outside their home. I feel very sorry for the family & friends of the poor 13 year old girl who died, it’s a tragedy, however

I think you are putting a lot of responsibility on retail staff though her actions really seem to be illogical. Tragedy all round.

If I had a severe allergy to dairy I would avoid coffee shops that specialise In using excessive amounts of milk.
its a tragic death of someone so young, but anywhere that works with milk like that could have contaminated anything she had touched. If it was me or my kids I wouldn’t risk it.

I guess professional negligence doesn't come into play. May be a huge lesson about trusting staff when you have such a critical condition?

No i think there were lots of gaps.
Firstly, if the allergy is so severe, don't drink hot choc from a coffee shop ( only home produced consumed).
The mum was offered an epi pen by dentist and refused,saying they were going to anti histamines.
To me, it looks like the reaction was easy more serious than she ever experienced,so yes the milk drink did cause the incident, but sadly it wasn't really to blame.

Reminds me of the girl who died after eating a Pret sandwich which contained an allergen.
If you have a life-threatening allergy, IMO you should never risk another person preparing food or drink for you.

How come your child had a deathly known allergy and you choose to buy her a drink in a setting like Costa?

I have severe food allergies but won't die by miscommunication but serious? The mum is nuts here although I am sorry for her loss.

This was a major chain that they should have been able to trust - where do you draw the line? They have to trust supermarkets etc. with regard to ingredients, folk with allergies can't be totally self-sufficient.

Has legislation about ingredient clarity actually introduced a false sense of security then and parents should really avoid anywhere like this?

What’s the minimum wage got to do with this? There must be a we are not responsible in case of contamination of goods in case of allergies clause? It’s tragic though.

Isn’t the powder for hot choc made with milk?

You are putting a lot of responsibility on someone serving coffee.

It’s really not as simple as staff to blame or hold no blame.

Since quite a few of the questions haven’t been answered and the inquest isn’t over it’s really difficult to give a definitive answer.

Very often yes.

This. People are human and with the best will in the world they are going to make mistakes.

I feel a little sorry for the coffee server. I guess Costa as a company are going to be liable but it sounds like the staff member may be on shaky legal ground....It will be interesting.

Never, never trust untrained staff if you have severe allergies. You will pay if you do because sh*t happens but most people don't pay with their lives.

Unless you grow your own food everything you eat has been prepared by someone else.

This is very odd. I don’t understand the bit in the article about there being milk in the chocolate and someone, presumable mum, saying it was fine?

I also don’t understand why she was buying hot chocolate on the way to the dentist?

Very sad loss.

I feel so sorry for the family but honestly, I do wonder at the logic of taking a child with a serious dairy allergy to a coffee shop.

I think Costa, not the staff, should take the blame. The staff member needed an interpreter at trial ffs. Anyone with that low a level of English shouldn't have been employed at all imo.