Aimee Walker
A 13-year-old girl died within hours of taking a single sip of hot chocolate from a coffee shop, an inquest has heard.
Hannah Jacobs, from Barking, East London, and her mother, Abimbola Duyile, visited the Costa Coffee branch in Station Parade, which the franchise owns and operates, in February 2023.
Within hours of drinking a hot chocolate from the high street chain, the teenager passed away and now, her heartbroken mother is ‘living a nightmare.’
Duyile ordered two takeaway soya hot chocolates from the coffee branch before taking Hannah to her dentist appointment.
The mother says she was being ‘extra picky’ and sounding ‘like a crazy mom’ as she was being so specific about the order.
Hannah was severely allergic to dairy, fish, and eggs from being a toddler, which meant she never ate at a friend’s house and would only eat at ‘known and trusted’ restaurants.
Recounting the day she ordered the two soya hot chocolates and the reaction of the staff behind the counter, Duyile told the court (per the BBC): “I feel that she did not understand what I was saying, which is why I leaned forwards so that she could hear what I was saying.”
In a statement after the inquest, Hannah’s mother said her daughter took her allergies ‘very seriously’ and was ‘extremely diligent.’
The 13-year-old reportedly took her first sip of hot chocolate when she reached the dentist, just a short walk away.
Duyile said her daughter’s reaction ‘happened quickly,’ as she ‘abruptly’ went to the toilet and shouted: “That was not soya milk.”
Hannah, who was experiencing chest pains, rushed to a nearby chemist with her mother – her ‘lips and mouth were very swollen and she was itchy.’
The teenager collapsed at the chemist and the pharmacist administered an EpiPen injection in her leg, the inquest heard.
Attempts to resuscitate Hannah were made and a customer called for an ambulance. When paramedics arrived, they continued resuscitation efforts.
The 13-year-old was taken to hospital and declared dead at 1 p.m., according to her family lawyers.
The court heard that on the day Duyile ordered the two soya hot chocolates, she wasn’t shown a book containing dietary requirements, which is part of Costa’s allergen rules.
The staff member who served Hannah’s mother said she didn’t show Duyile the book ‘as she told me washing the jug was fine.’
At the time of the teenager’s death, new Costa staff reportedly participated in allergen training which involved a series of online modules that could be accessed remotely and repeated until answered correctly.
Ultimately, assistant coroner Dr. Shirley Radcliffe ruled that Hannah’s death was the result of ‘a failure to follow the processes in place to discuss allergies,’ per Sky News.
The coroner also noted that on the day of the teenager’s passing, ‘neither Hannah or her mother were carrying an EpiPen that had been prescribed’ in case she was exposed to an allergen.
A post-mortem examination determined that Hannah died of a hypersensitive anaphylactic reaction triggered by a hot chocolate ingredient that caused an allergic response.
Dr. Rahul Chodhari, who was involved in the management of Hannah’s allergies, said an early dose of adrenaline could have been key to helping Hannah, per The Guardian.
Two weeks after the inquest, Duyile told ITV News she wants ‘the world to know how deadly allergies are.’
She said: “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 calling on the government to implement tougher allergy awareness legislation.
Costa Coffee released a statement following the inquest’s conclusion, calling the teenager’s death a ‘tragedy.’
A spokesperson said: “Understanding how this awful situation occurred is in the interest of everyone – our franchise partners, our customers, our team members, and the communities of which we are a part.”
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