Family of milk-allergic mother-of-five killed by Pret sandwich to receive £1.25m compensation payout
The family of a milk-allergic mother killed by a so-called “dairy-free” Pret a Manger sandwich has received a £1.25 million compensation payment from the High Court.
Dental nurse Celia Marsh, 42, collapsed and died after eating a Pret “vegan rainbow” flatbread sandwich while strolling through Bath with her husband and three daughters on a post-Christmas shopping trip in December 2017.
Ms. Marsh, who is allergic to milk, thought the sandwich contained a safe coconut yoghurt alternative, but unbeknownst to her, the sandwich turned out to be contaminated with milk protein.
Shortly after eating the sandwich, he began to feel unwell and collapsed; Despite the help of a passing first aid officer, the mother of five died in the hospital after being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Following the inquest into his death in 2022, Avon’s senior coroner Maria Voisin blamed his death on the contaminated sandwich, writing in her report: “A product marked ‘dairy-free’ must not contain dairy products.”
Ms Marsh’s husband Andy, who describes himself as her “best friend”, later brought a High Court claim for damages on behalf of his family against the high street cafe chain and the product’s manufacturer, Planet Coconut Ltd.
Following out-of-court negotiations, Mr Marsh agreed to settle the claim and lawyers announced in court yesterday that the family will receive a total of £1.25 million.
Judge Master Mark Gidden, who was asked to approve part of the settlement, was told Pret would be responsible for 25 per cent of the payment, with Planet Coconut’s insurers responsible for the rest.
Mum-of-five Mrs Marsh, from Melksham, Wilts, died following a disastrous shopping trip in Bath with her husband Andy and their three daughters at Christmas 2017.
Her family said she was shopping and looking for milk allergy-safe lunches before deciding to try a “vegan rainbow” from Pret in Stall Street.
The inquest heard the woman had “religiously avoided” dairy products following a near-fatal experience months earlier in which she needed 15 doses of adrenaline after suffering an allergic reaction.
The coroner said in his report following the inquest that Ms Marsh had assumed the “vegan” lunch was safe but disaster struck because it was contaminated with milk protein.
“An investigation by Bath and North East Somerset Trading Standards and others traced the dairy products to a packaged product made by Planet Coconut and marketed as a dairy-free coconut yoghurt alternative,” he said.
“The package contained a product marked ‘dairy-free coconut yoghurt alternative’ but nevertheless contained milk protein, which was the cause of Celia’s anaphylaxis.
“The contamination occurred because a component in yoghurt called HG1 was cross-contaminated with milk protein during its production.
“The dairy-free yoghurt manufacturer had documentation indicating this risk, but this risk was not communicated to its customers.”
The inquest heard he suffered an acute allergic reaction within 15 minutes and collapsed in the street within half an hour.
Miss Marsh gave herself a shot of adrenaline with the EpiPen she always carried with her, and a passing paramedic tried to help, but although an ambulance rushed her to hospital, she died at 4pm.
Following the inquest, eldest daughter Ashleigh Grice said her mother lived in “constant fear” and checked all food labels religiously, “mostly triple checking”.
Mr Marsh sued Pret and Planet Coconut over his wife’s death and after negotiations outside court the parties reached a settlement over the claim, which was approved by a judge yesterday.
Family lawyer Hannah Noyce told the judge that Pret and Planet Coconut had agreed to share responsibility for the payment totaling £1.25 million.
“Both defendants had initially agreed to apportion liability on a 75/25 basis in favor of Pret, but Pret was not prepared to agree to terms that would make all defendants jointly and severally liable,” he said.
“They wanted certain amounts to be agreed upon. It was agreed that Planet Coconut’s insurers would be parties to the agreement and would be jointly and severally liable for Planet Coconut’s share.”
The hearing, held via a video link at the High Court in London, was for Master Gidden to approve a specific part of the agreement, which he said he was “delighted” to do.
Following Ms Marsh’s death, the coroner published a special “prevention of future deaths” report, which called for the establishment of a system to record cases of severe allergic reactions to provide “early warning” about “products with undeclared allergen content”.
The report also recommended a system of checks to ensure food is correctly labeled as ‘free from’ and ‘vegan’, leading the Food Standards Agency to update its labeling guidance.
