Legal action taken against Hepatitis A linked bakery

Legal action is to be taken against the Airdrie bakery linked to an outbreak of Hepatitis A last month.

Thompsons Solicitors have confirmed they have been approached by 9 of the 42 people who allegedly fell ill after eating food bought from JB Christie .

Patrick McGuire is a partner at the firm and said: “After the news emerged on Friday that the number of cases had risen from 9 to 42 we started taking calls. Things are at an early stage legally but any one of these people who have been confirmed by the health authorities as having contracted Hep A will have a very strong case.

"It’s obviously of great relieve that the source of the outbreak, Christies Bakery, has now been given the all clear but for those who contracted this illness it’s been a very worrying and highly unpleasant experience.”

Hepatitis A is caused by contact with human waste and spread by poor hand washing hygiene. It causes a flu-like illness with loss of appetite, fever and abdominal pains. And although victims will recover in time it can lead to periods of absence from employment.

Mr McGuire continued: “In a previous case against Gleneagles hotel and in my ongoing case against Scottish Water, not only have we secured settlements for victims who lost wages through absence from work but also substantial amounts for the pain and suffering caused by the contamination. I expect these Airdrie cases to be very similar.”

“Mass lawsuits like this require a large degree of experience which is why I have a specialist team who have dealt with situations like this before and at present they are beginning cases on behalf of 9 clients. I would expect more people to contact us over the coming days and the more people who take legal action over this matter the more likely it is that we can have an early conclusion.”

Andrew Chisholm, JB Christie managing director, told Clyde News: "I am deeply disappointed that a law firm is seeking to profiteer from the recent cases of Hepatitis A. I am very clear that there is nothing actionable here.

“The health and safety of our customers and staff are of paramount importance.

“We have cooperated fully throughout this process and we undertook additional control measures agreed by NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council which enabled us to resume trading on Tuesday 2 May.

“As an additional precaution, we also voluntarily disposed of all its fresh ingredients and any food stuffs which could transmit infection.

“Both the local authority and health board currently have no public health concerns regarding the safety of food produced by the bakery.”

They have been cleared by public health authorities and resumed trading one week ago.