Allergies, how many more will have to die?

I saw a report from a coronors court on the news yesterday about an inquest on a 13 year girl who had died after being given a dairy milk hot chocolate instead of the soya one she'd asked for, she was seriously ill within minutes of having one mouthful and dead not long after. This drink was served in a franchise branch of a well known hight street coffee shop, who said that the training and awareness of allergies hadn't been followed in this case and they agreed with the coroners findings.

How long before people take allergies seriously? I think the owners and staff who served the young woman should be prosecuted for negligence manslaughter as I fear its the only way that allergies will be taken seriously. It's not a laugh, or a joke and it definately does matter when you're given something you're allergic too. So many people think allergy suferers are fussy, lying and attention seeking and if you don't tell them you've given them an allergen they won't know.

I wonder how many people at best spend the day itching or in the toilet because of being given an allergen by someone who's to arrogant to care, or end up in hospital, let alone the mortuary?

I think we really need a public awareness campaign about how serious allergies can be.

Parents
  • That is a tragic story, but unfortunately we all have to take responsibility for ourselves and our dependents - you can't rely on other people to do the correct thing, and errors happen.

    If it was me with a life threatening allergy, I wouldn't go anywhere without an epipen and would not order anything that might result in me getting an allergen by mistake. Treats can be purchased in supermarkets where the labels can be checked. A few restrictions on the way your life is lived are preferable to dying unnecessarily.

  • Treats can be purchased in supermarkets where the labels can be checked.

    Unfortunately, it seems that checking labels isn't guaranteed to be safe either. In this case (which I read about at the time), a store failed to change the labelling to reflect the addition of an allergen to an existing (previously safe) product by the manufacturer: 

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/family-dancer-25-who-died-32921161 

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