A woman from Swanley has been awarded a £70k settlement after her husband died from Legionnaire’s Disease, contracted on board a Fred Olsen cruise.

Audrey Heath, a volunteer worker and retired secretary, and her husband Robert, a retired milkman, were enjoying a cruise to Lapland and St Petersburg on the M.S. Black Watch in July 2007, when it was announced that there had been an outbreak of the potentially fatal bacteria on the ship.

As a result, the cruise ended early and the couple returned home on 30th July. The following day Mr Heath, 77, began to feel unwell and, worried about the risk of Legionnaire’s Disease, a day later visited his local GP – The Oaks Partnership in Swanley.

Despite providing the list of common symptoms given to him by the cruise line and being in a high risk group due to his age, the doctor, Dr Ethan Harris-Faulkner, performed no tests, but simply prescribed antibiotics and sent Mr Heath home, where his condition continued to deteriorate throughout the day.

His daughter, Julie Bennett, was so worried that she visited the doctor’s surgery that afternoon, but was told that her father should continue taking antibiotics for 24 hours and wait for signs of improvement. After he took a turn for the worse the following day, Mrs Bennett called the surgery for advice but nobody was available to talk to her. Later in the day Dr Elizabeth Lunt returned her call, but after listening to a description of the symptoms, offered no further support. Mr Heath died at home the following day.

An inquest ruled that Fred Olsen Cruise Liners Ltd exposed Mr Heath to Legionnaire’s Disease and found that the two doctors he saw failed to prescribe adequate medication, respond to his worsening condition or arrange for his admission to hospital.

Audrey Heath said: “My husband was reasonably fit and healthy before we went away, and we used to enjoy regular holidays and a social life together, so to see him deteriorate so quickly after he fell ill was very traumatic. The doctors did not take his condition seriously and even after his death, Dr Lunt has not shown any regret for what happened. I feel that Robert might still be with us had doctors paid more care and attention.”

Kimberley Owen, Partner at Russell Jones and Walker who represented Mrs Heath, said: “Before he passed away, Mr Heath provided an enormous amount of support to his wife, who has health problems that limit her ability to undertake some day to day tasks.  While the £70,000 damages will not bring Mrs Heath’s husband back, it will make it easier for her to cope with daily life and is an appropriate settlement from the three parties in this case who failed to care for her husband sufficiently.”