A 13-year-old girl passed away just hours after taking a single sip of hot chocolate from a coffee shop, according to an inquest.
In February 2023, Hannah Jacobs, a resident of Barking in East London, visited the Costa Coffee branch in Station Parade with her mother, Abimbola Duyile.
Just hours after drinking a hot chocolate from the popular chain, the teenager tragically passed away, leaving her devastated mother to feel as though she is “living a nightmare.”
Duyile ordered two takeaway soya hot chocolates from the coffee shop before taking Hannah to her dentist appointment. She recalls being “extra picky” and feeling like “a crazy mom” for being so particular about the order.
Hannah had severe allergies to dairy, fish, and eggs since she was a toddler, which prevented her from eating at friends’ houses and limited her dining options to only “known and trusted” restaurants.
Duyile recounted the day she ordered two soya hot chocolates and the staff’s reaction at the counter, explaining to the court (according to the BBC): “I felt that she didn’t fully understand what I was saying, which is why I leaned forward to ensure she could hear me.”
In a statement following the inquest, Hannah’s mother remarked that her daughter took her allergies “very seriously” and was “exceptionally diligent.”
The 13-year-old allegedly took her first sip of hot chocolate shortly after arriving at the dentist’s office, just a short walk away.
Duyile described her daughter’s reaction as occurring “quickly,” stating that she suddenly rushed to the restroom and exclaimed, “That was not soya milk.”
Hannah, feeling chest pains, hurried to a nearby pharmacy with her mother, her lips and mouth severely swollen and accompanied by itching.
The teenager collapsed at the pharmacy, prompting the pharmacist to administer an EpiPen injection into her leg, as heard during the inquest.
Efforts to resuscitate Hannah were initiated, and a customer called for an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived, they continued the resuscitation efforts.
According to her family’s lawyers, the 13-year-old was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1 p.m.
The court heard that on the day Duyile ordered the two soya hot chocolates, she was not provided with a book outlining dietary requirements, which is a part of Costa’s allergen guidelines.
The staff member who served Hannah’s mother stated that she didn’t show Duyile the book “because she told me washing the jug was fine.”
At the time of the teenager’s death, new Costa staff were reportedly undergoing allergen training, which included a series of online modules that could be accessed remotely and repeated until the questions were answered correctly.
Ultimately, assistant coroner Dr. Shirley Radcliffe concluded that Hannah’s death resulted from “a failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies,” according to Sky News.
The coroner also highlighted that on the day of the teenager’s passing, neither Hannah nor her mother had an EpiPen that had been prescribed in case she was exposed to an allergen.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Hannah died from a hypersensitive anaphylactic reaction triggered by an ingredient in the hot chocolate that caused an allergic response.
Dr. Rahul Chodhari, who managed Hannah’s allergies, stated that an early dose of adrenaline could have been crucial in helping her, as reported by The Guardian.
Two weeks after the inquest, Duyile expressed to ITV News her desire for “the world to know how deadly allergies are.”
She stated, “Sometimes I think I need to wake up from this dream; I need someone to pinch me, but it’s not a dream—it’s a nightmare, and I’m living in it.”
Hannah’s mother is now urging the government to establish stricter allergy awareness legislation.
Following the inquest’s conclusion, Costa Coffee issued a statement describing the teenager’s death as a “tragedy.”
A spokesperson stated, “Understanding how this awful situation occurred is in the interest of everyone—our franchise partners, our customers, our team members, and the communities to which we belong.”
