An investigation into the tragic death of Hannah Jacobs has revealed multiple ‘failures’ leading up to the 13-year-old’s demise.
In February 2023, Hannah passed away after her mother ordered her a hot chocolate at a Costa Coffee shop located in Barking, London.
Hannah had been severely allergic to fish, eggs, and dairy since childhood. When her mother, Abimbola Duyile, ordered their drinks, she requested two soya hot chocolates and asked that the equipment be thoroughly cleaned.
It appears that Hannah was mistakenly given hot chocolate made with cow’s milk, causing an allergic reaction.
At the time, neither Hannah nor her mother had an EpiPen, so they rushed to a nearby pharmacy seeking help.
Hannah collapsed in the pharmacy, prompting a call for an ambulance. Unfortunately, she died later that day in the hospital.
Over a year after this devastating incident, an inquest into Hannah’s death has been conducted, concluding yesterday, on August 16.
The inquest determined that Hannah’s death resulted from a ‘failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies’ and a ‘failure of communication’ between the coffee shop staff and Hannah’s mother.
Assistant coroner Dr. Shirley Radcliffe stated: “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.”
Additionally, it was highlighted that the barista failed to provide Hannah’s mother with an allergy booklet, which Costa Coffee staff are required to present to customers in such situations.
A member of Hannah’s mother’s legal team issued a statement outside the court.
“Having heard all the evidence over the last week, it is clear to me that although the food service industry and medical professionals are required to have allergy training, the training is really not taken seriously enough,” they stated.
“Better awareness is really needed in these industries and across society of the symptoms of anaphylaxis.”
Reports indicate that one of the baristas at the Barking branch had failed their allergy training test 20 times, a situation Abimbola’s legal team deemed ‘not acceptable’.
Faton Abrashi, a regional operations manager for Costa Coffee in London responsible for allergy procedures, testified that Costa baristas are only allowed to serve customers who disclose an allergy if they have completed specific allergy safety training.