Hannah Jacobs, who had been allergic to dairy products, along with fish and eggs, since she was a toddler, died within hours of taking the drink on February 8, 2022 (Picture: Getty/PA)
A 13-year-old girl with a severe dairy allergy died after sipping a Costa Coffee hot chocolate when the barista failed to follow basic protocols around customer allergies and misunderstood instructions to use soya milk instead of cows’ milk, an inquest has concluded.
Assistant coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said there had been ‘failure of communication’ between the coffee shop staff and Hannah Jacobs’ mother.
Hannah Jacobs, who had been allergic to dairy products, along with fish and eggs, since she was a toddler, died within hours of taking the drink on February 8, 2022.
Dr Radcliffe said: ‘The root cause of this death is a failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies combined with a failure of communication between the mother and the barista.’
The inquest heard Hannah took her first sip of the drink when she was at the dentist nearby in Barking, east London, but abruptly ran to the toilet saying ‘that was not soya milk’.
Her mother Abimbola Duyile then rushed the teenager, who was complaining of chest pains, to a nearby chemist as her ‘lips and mouth were very swollen and she was itchy’.
The pharmacist gave her an EpiPen injection in her leg while attempts to resuscitate were started and a customer called an ambulance. Paramedics soon arrived and continued resuscitation efforts.
Hannah was rushed to hospital where she was declared dead by 1pm.
Giving evidence, Ms Duyile told the court she had been careful about checking with the staff before they prepared the drinks, saying: ‘I made sure that the staff was aware that this was not a joke.’
She said she was being ‘extra picky’ and so specific about the order that she ‘might sound like a crazy mum’ but her attitude was that she needed ‘to be straight with the staff’.
Ms Duyile told the court she felt the barista ‘did not understand what I was saying, which is why I leaned forwards so that she could hear what I was saying’.
Urmi Akter, who took the order, gave evidence with the help of a Bengali interpreter.
She used her legal right under coroners’ rules not to answer a series of questions that could be seen as incriminating.
Ms Akter, who had worked at the Costa Coffee franchise for about eight months, told the court she could hear and see Ms Duyile ‘clearly’ as she served her at the counter.
In her statement, Ms Akter had said Ms Duyile asked for two hot chocolates adding: ‘Can you wash the jug because my daughter has a dairy allergy?’
Hannah was rushed to hospital where she was declared dead by 1pm
Under Costa’s rules, customers who ask for a non-dairy product or state they have a dietary requirement should be shown a book that is kept under the till which includes ingredients and details of how the drink is made, the court heard.
Ms Akter’s statement added: ‘I did not show the mother the book as she told me washing the jug was fine. I thought she, as the mother, would know more about (it).
‘I gave her the drink she requested.’
Ms Akter told the court she had repeated Ms Duyile’s request that the jug be washed and also pointed out that hot chocolate is made from milk.
She said Ms Duyile replied ‘that’s fine’.
Assistant coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said: ‘As far as I understand you said the mother mentioned the dairy allergy.
‘The book was not shown to the mother and only thing done was to make one drink, wash the jug and make the other drink.’
The coroner also asked Ms Akter why she had not shown an allergy book to Ms Duyile which is in line with her training and if she thought it was ‘strange’ that the mother was asking you to wash out the jug between making the two drinks.
Ms Akter declined to answer.
Emily Slocombe, representing Hannah’s family, asked: ‘If you had got out the allergy book and shown and discussed this with Hannah’s mother, this would have been an opportunity for any miscommunications to be cleared up, wouldn’t it?’
Ms Slocombe also asked Ms Akter if she repeated the order back to Ms Duyile.
Other questions included whether Ms Akter was given training in her own language, if refresher training had been provided, if she knew what an allergen was, and also if she knew the potential consequences of being subject to any allergy.
She was also asked if anyone checked her understanding of the training and if she ever wrote anything on a drink to identify what is in it.
Another question related to whether she was ever told about using different jugs for different drinks.
She was also shown a document which said a ‘product nutrition and allergy guide must be referred to every time’ and if she was aware of this.
Ms Slocombe also asked why Ms Akter did not confirm whether cows’ milk was being used after she had been told of Hannah’s dietary needs and if she had told the barista who went on to make the drink about the allergy.
She did not give an answer to any of those questions.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.