A Costa Coffee barista who served cow’s milk hot chocolate to a girl with severe dairy allergies has admitted that she struggled to understand customers from behind a plastic screen.
Hours after taking a sip from a drink her mother had ordered for her in Barking, east London, 13-year-old Hannah Jacobs died, an inquest heard on Tuesday.
Abimbola Duyile has claimed that she asked for two soya milk hot chocolates, telling Costa employee Urmi Akter that her daughter had allergies.
However, giving evidence with a Bengali translator at East London coroner’s court, Ms Akter told the hearing Ms Duyile had only asked for one small and one medium hot chocolate. She said she had not heard Ms Duyile say she wanted two soya milk hot chocolates.
Ms Akter admitted Ms Duyile had told her of her daughter’s dairy allergies – but said she only asked for the jug used to froth the milk to be thoroughly washed.
Dr Shirley Radcliffe, the assistant coroner, asked Ms Akter: “Have you ever had any difficulty understanding what someone has said from behind the [clear plastic] screen [of the Costa till]?”
“Not too much,” Ms Akter replied. “Sometimes.”
‘Allergy book’
Ms Akter, who had been working at the Barking branch of Costa Coffee for eight months at the time of the incident last February, said Hannah appeared “angry” at her mother as they ordered their drinks.
Dr Radcliffe read to the court from Ms Akter’s account of the incident, given to police, in which she claimed she had replied to Ms Duyile after she placed her order.
Dr Radcliffe told Ms Akter: “You said: ‘You are asking me to wash the jug but a hot chocolate is made with milk.’ [Ms Duyile] said: ‘That is fine. Give me extra hot and my daughter’s normal.’
“You said: ‘She never asked for non-dairy [milk], she just asked me to wash the jug.’”
Emily Slocombe, the lawyer for Ms Duyile, observed that Ms Duyile had claimed Ms Akter made no reply to her after she placed her order.
Julia Kendrick, representing Ms Akter, continually advised her client that, under Rule 22, she did not have to answer questions that could expose her to criminal liability. Ms Akter responded “no answer” to many questions.
Despite Costa’s allergy training instructing staff to show an “allergy book” to customers who reported allergies, Ms Akter did not do so, the hearing was told.
Dr Radcliffe asked: “Why did you not show the allergy book [to Ms Duyile]?” Warned by Ms Kendrick, who said “Rule 22” before her client could reply, Ms Akter said: “No answer.”
Ms Slocombe asked Ms Akter if she remembered being given allergy training, whether it was given in Bengali and whether there was refresher training. She received no answer to these questions.
Ms Slocombe said: “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?
She added: “You didn’t repeat the order back to Abi [Ms Duyile], did you? Knowing [about] a severe dairy allergy, why didn’t you confirm that cows milk was being used?
Ms Akter again gave no answer to the questions.
Began vomiting
Hannah began vomiting at a dental practice in Barking, where her mother took her for an emergency extraction, after taking just one sip from her drink. She immediately told her mother the drink was “not soya milk”.
Iqra Fahad, Hannah’s dentist, told the inquest a dental nurse offered Ms Duyile an EpiPen with 300mg of adrenaline, which doctors say could have saved her life.
Giving evidence via video link from Pakistan, Ms Fahad said Ms Duyile had refused the EpiPen, adding: “When the child left the room, I think one of the nurses asked mum if she needed an EpiPen, which mum refused.
“Mum did mention she was going to the pharmacy to get [the antihistamine] cetirizine. I didn’t think it was the point where we needed an EpiPen.”
Ms Duyile shook her head in the coroner’s court whilst listening to some of Ms Fahad’s answers.
The inquest continues.