A 13-year-old girl who had a severe dairy allergy took one sip of a Costa Coffee hot chocolate which caused an “immediate reaction” before she died, an inquest heard.
Hannah Jacobs from Barking, East London died within a few hours of drinking the beverage which she thought contained soya milk on February 8, 2023.
Her mother, Abimbola Duyile informed staff at Costa that her daughter’s allergies were “not a joke” while ordering the two soya milk hot chocolates.
Duyile told the inquest that she asked the employees to clean the jug used for the hot chocolate which they agreed to do.
“I made sure that the staff was aware that this was not a joke,” Duyile told the inquest.
The mother said that even though she “might sound like a crazy mum”, she was being “extra picky” because she wanted “to be straight with the staff”.
She told the court: “Hannah was busy telling me off for being so picky.
“I feel that [the staff member] did not understand what I was saying, which is why I leaned forwards so that she could hear what I was saying.”
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Duyile said that Jacobs took her first sip in the dentist before “abruptly got up and went to the toilet and shouted ‘that was not soya milk’.”
The schoolgirl coughed up phlegm and complained of chest pains.
Her mother said her daughter’s “lips and mouth were very swollen and she was itchy”.
“My initial response was of anger to the Costa Coffee staff — it gave way to terror,” Duyile recalled.
A schoolgirl has died from a suspected severe allergic reaction after drinking a hot chocolate from Costa CoffeeLeigh Day
The teenager then collapsed in the chemist, where the pharmacist gave her an EpiPen injection in her leg.
Paramedics treated Jacobs but was pronounced dead by 1pm, according to her family’s lawyers.
The family had been aware of her allergies since she was a toddler with her mum describing their policy as “complete avoidance”.
She added that her daughter was “diligent” about what she ate as she “understood” that “managing her allergies was just part of life”.