A 13-year-old girl with severe food allergies died after taking a single sip of hot chocolate, an inquest at East London Coroner’s Court has heard.
Brit Hannah Jacobs was diagnosed as a toddler with severe allergies to fish, eggs, and dairy, and had become used to managing them in her day-to-day life.
On February 8, 2022, 13-year-old Hannah had been on the way to a dentist’s appointment in London with her mom Abimbola Duyile when she stopped for a hot chocolate at a Costa Coffee branch in Barking.
While ordering at the chain, Ms Duyile told how she had been very ‘picky’ about ensuring that the drink was made with soy milk and not dairy, and that equipment was properly sanitised.
Hannah Jacob’s family have released this photo of her. (Family Handout)
In a statement read out in court, she said: “When I arrived at the coffee shop I said to the person serving that we both would like hot chocolate.
“I said that Hannah was severely allergic to cows’ milk and said they should clean the jug – to which they agreed.”
After purchasing the drinks the pair walked to the nearby dentist’s practice, and Hannah took a sip of the drink in the waiting room.
Ms Duyile recalled how her daughter “abruptly got up and went to the toilet and shouted ‘that was not soya milk’.”
In her statement, Ms Duyile said: “My initial response was of anger to the Costa Coffee staff – it gave way to terror.”
The 13-year-old unknowingly drank dairy milk in her hot chocolate, despite being severly allergic. (Getty Stock Image)
The mom went on to recall how Hannah’s reaction had ‘happened quickly’, and that she had started coughing up phlegm and was complaining of chest pains.
Ms Duyile rushed Hannah to a nearby pharmacy to get an EpiPen as they suspected Hannah was having an anaphylactic reaction.
There, a pharmacist administered the EpiPen in Hannah’s leg after she collapsed in the chemist.
A customer called an ambulance and attempts were started to resuscitate Hannah, which were taken over by paramedics.
Hannah was then taken to hospital where sadly, she was declared dead by 1pm, according to lawyers representing the family.
Due to her severe allergies, Hannah and her family had opted for her to use ‘complete avoidance’ at home.
A pharmacist administered an EpiPen injection before an ambulance arrived, but sadly it was to little avail. (matsou / Getty)
Generally she would only eat food that had been throughly checked first and been cooked by her mom or her auntie.
The inquest also heard testimony from Dr Rahul Chodhari, who was involved in the management of Hannah’s allergies.
Assistant coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe asked Dr Chodhari if two doses of adrenaline 300mcg could have changed the outcome, to which he said it was hard to predict, adding that ‘150mcg was certainly too small a dose to be given’.
The inquest is set to hear further testimonies, after which the coroner will give a ruling on the circumstances of Hannah’s death.
Paying tribute to her daughter, Ms Duyile said: “I know that she would have achieved anything she set her mind to. I loved my child so much and my heart is broken.”
UNILAD has contacted Costa Coffee for comment.