Girl, 13, died of allergy after 'failure to follow processes'

A 13-year-old girl died of a severe allergic reaction just hours after taking one sip of a Costa Coffee hot chocolate following a “failure to follow processes”, an inquest concluded yesterday.

- MADELINE SHERRATT

Hannah Jacobs had a severe dairy allergy and suffered an immediate reaction while out with her mother in Barking, east London, in February 2023 after drinking the beverage, which should have been made with soya milk.

Assistant coroner Dr Shirley 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 coroner noted that on the day of her death “neither Hannah nor her mother were carrying an EpiPen that had been prescribed”.

In a statement issued by the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, Hannah’s parents called for the government to bring in an “allergy tsar”.

Following the inquest, Hannah’s mother, Abimbola Duyile, paid tribute to her “vivacious, caring, affectionate” daughter who had “everything to live for”.

A member of Ms Duyile’s legal team read a statement outside East London coroner’s court on her behalf, saying: “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.