Manager sues for £250k after being thrown into luxury hotel pool
An events manager is suing her former bosses for more than £250,000 after she was thrown into a swimming pool by drunken salesmen at a hotel in Mauritius.
Chloe Hewitt, 26, who claimed she landed on broken glass, sustained nerve damage and required two operations after being flung into the water at an after-party on June 4 2022.
The party followed an event organised by Herbalife, a health drinks brand.
Ms Hewitt, of Weybridge, Surrey, is suing the company's European arm for damages on the basis that it had not done enough to ensure the boozy event was safe.
The Uxbridge-based Herbalife, which sells weight loss shakes and other nutritional products, denies liability, claiming the after-party was not organised by the company.
Ms Hewitt, who began working for the company in June 2020 in its regional promotions department, was sent to Mauritius's five-star Paradis Hotel for a training and team-building event.
Matthew Chapman KC, acting on behalf of Ms Hewitt, said her accident happened at the event's 'farewell party', which included dinner, a DJ and a free bar.
'At around midnight on 4 June 2022, the DJ continued to play music and the free bar continued to serve drinks,' he said.
'The dance floor was located next to the resort swimming pool. Drinks were provided in glasses, rather than plastic containers and there was broken glass on and around the dance floor. Some of the party-goers were exhibiting obvious signs of intoxication. There were no security staff on duty.
'The claimant was then pushed forcefully and unexpectedly from behind and back into the swimming pool. The claimant was completely submerged under the water and the force of her entry carried her to the base of the swimming pool where she caught her foot on an object lying there and felt an immediate, sharp pain.
'The claimant had caught her foot on broken glass debris, which was on the bottom of the swimming pool, having found its way there from glasses containing drinks served at the farewell party.'
'She could have gone to bed'
Mr Chapman said his client had been left with 'significant pain and stiffness, loss of sensation and loss of movement' in her right foot, which is likely to be permanent.
Herbalife claimed it is not responsible for its members, who run independent businesses selling its products, and that Ms Hewitt was off the clock when the accident occurred.
Rory Holmes, representing Herbalife, said: 'Once the farewell party ended, the claimant's time was her own. She was no longer on duty.
'The claimant was naturally free to spend her personal time however she wanted – she could have gone to bed, she could have gone for a walk in the hotel grounds, she could have chosen to be on her own, she could have chosen to socialise with whomever she wished.
'The defendant does not condone the actions of the distributors who threw members of the group into the pool,' he added.
The case is expected to go to trial later this year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Gunmen kill 17 soldiers in northern Nigeria attacks
LAGOS, June 25 (Reuters) - At least 17 soldiers were killed in northern Nigeria when gunmen stormed three army bases, security sources and a local official said on Wednesday, the latest assault in a region plagued by violence. Armed gangs operating in the northwest, known locally as bandits, typically engage in kidnapping for ransom and target security forces. The Nigerian Army confirmed the attacks on Tuesday but did not provide details. "Sadly, some gallant warriors paid the supreme price in the day-long battles while four troops wounded in action are currently receiving treatment for their gunshot wounds," the army said in a statement. Two security sources said gunmen launched surprise attacks on the army's forward operating bases in the Kwanar Dutse Mariga and Boka areas in Niger State and another base in neighbouring Kaduna State, battling troops for several hours. The sources and Abbas Kasuwar Garba, chairman for Mariga district, said all 17 fatalities were at the Kwanar Dutse Mariga base. "It was an ambush. They (gunmen) came from nowhere and used heavy ammunition to attack," said a Niger-based army officer. The Nigerian Army said it launched counterattacks, killing several gunmen. Insecurity has stretched Nigeria's military, as it confronts armed gangs alongside Islamist groups Boko Haram and an Islamic State affiliate in the northeast. Niger State has witnessed ambushes against military personnel, with Boko Haram fighters known to operate there.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Who are JNIM, the jihadist ‘ghost enemy' gaining momentum in the Sahel?
The scene is wearily familiar. It is dusk at a ramshackle military outpost, surrounded by miles of scrubby desert or on the outskirts of a major town. Suddenly, there is the sound of automatic rifle fire, and hundreds of men arriving on motorbikes, then explosions, screams, fire, smoke. The defenders flee or are killed. The attackers shout triumphant cries of 'God is Greatest'. A few days later comes an edited video clip of the successful attack and a claim of responsibility from the Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, an Islamist extremist group which now controls a swath of the Sahel, which stretches across Africa from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean and marks the borderlands between the Sahara and less arid zones. The series of bombings, hijackings, attacks on military bases and raids into major towns in Mali and Burkina Faso carried out by JNIM in recent weeks have gone largely unnoticed in a world preoccupied by conflicts elsewhere, but marks one of the most significant military efforts by any Islamic militant organisation anywhere in the world since the Taliban stormed back to power in Afghanistan in 2021. But the recent success of the JNIM may be less a result of its own strength than the weakness of its opponents. Across the Sahel, grinding poverty, instability, sectarian and longstanding violence have long combined to offer opportunities to insurgents, separatists and extremists. These factors have lately been exacerbated by politics. A series of coups have brought military regimes to power in key states worst hit by Islamic extremism, leading to the expulsion of one of the biggest deployments of UN peacekeepers, French elite units and more than 1,000 US troops equipped with dozens of surveillance drones from the region. Earlier this month, the Russian mercenaries who had been brought in by Mali's military rulers to help their forces fight JNIM abandoned a brutal campaign in which they had suffered heavy casualties – and been implicated in the massacre of thousands of civilians. Ulf Laessing, who runs the Sahel programme of Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation from the Malian capital, Bamako, described the JNIM as a 'ghost enemy' that appears out of nowhere in force. 'By the time the government forces react, they can't reach the real bad guys so take revenge on civilians and that is a major driver of recruitment,' he said. Such atrocities are repeated by militaries across the region and have fuelled support for the JNIM, particularly in communities systematically targeted as supposed 'supporters of terrorism'. A UN survey in 2017 underlined the link between radicalisation and abuses by authorities in sub-Saharan Africa. Though security has deteriorated across the Sahel, aid programmes have been cut back or ended. President Trump's recent decision to slash foreign assistance has curtailed more. Western diplomats and NGOs have also withdrawn, or been expelled, along with soldiers. JNIM and other militants have exploited the vacuum that has opened up, offering protection and some basic services as well as coercing communities into accepting their authority and strict Islamically inspired rules. Expansion also means resources. Control of roads means traffic can be taxed, for example. 'JNIM are becoming a force that is well beyond just military … Villagers see no other option. JNIM run courts, schools, informal goldmines. They are very pragmatic, and not corrupt,' said Laessing. This broad social approach was pioneered by al-Qaida, to which JNIM may owe a tenuous loyalty, after Ayman al-Zawahiri took over as leader after the death in 2011 of its founder, Osama bin Laden. It has had mixed success but has been effective in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, especially the Sahel. Aneliese Bernard, a Washington-based expert and former US official in the region, said local actors were key to the JNIM expansion into littoral states. 'It's a hybrid of spillover and homegrown … JNIM's strategic approach is to do prospecting. They pay marginalised youth, often from Fulani communities or teenage girls, to provide intelligence on local security forces and communities which might be open to approach but the homegrown jihadist cells now linked to JNIM probably would have emerged on their own,' Bernard said. The group may have other ambitions, too. A leader and spokesperson recently boasted that the group had launched a 'second phase' of its war against local states and would be hunting its enemies 'in the big cities … in your last refuges'. One possibility, analysts said, is that JNIM is preparing a radical shift, inspired by the success of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which seized power in Syria after Ahmed al-Sharaa, its leader, moderated his organisation's ideology and focused on governance rather than holy war. Such a victory may be distant, but there is no doubting who has the momentum in the Sahel. 'We are seeing the impact of many years of decline … but it is now very clear that the situation has degraded very steeply,' said Andrew Lebovich, an expert in the Sahel at the Clingendael Institute, The Hague. 'Things are really quite bad at the moment, to say the least.'
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Tear gas fired in Kenya as police battle young protesters
Update: Date: 10:35 BST Title: Stop use of state violence - former chief justice Content: David Maraga is among demonstrators in Nairobi Kenya's former Chief Justice David Maraga is taking part in the protests against police brutality in Nairobi. He condemned the "use of state violence" against grieving families and peaceful protesters. "The flagrant violation of the constitution and human rights must stop," he said. The former chief justice's participation in the demonstration is not surprising. He is a vocal critic of police brutality, and has ambitions to run for the presidency in the next election. Update: Date: 10:19 BST Title: Opposition leaders lay wreaths outside parliament Content: Opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Eugene Wamalwa have joined protesters in Nairobi and have called on police exercise restraint The two laid wreaths outside parliament in honour of the people killed in anti-tax demonstrations a year ago. "They were mowed down. Shot and killed, and a year later, nothing has happened," Musyoka said. A heavy contingent of anti-riot police has been deployed in major cities amid fears of a confrontation with protesters. Update: Date: 10:16 BST Title: Government urges protesters not to 'provoke police' Content: Kenya's interior ministry has urged demonstrators not to "provoke the police" as they protest against police brutality. "Respect the law, be responsible," it says in a post on X. Update: Date: 10:00 BST Title: Fears that club-wielding 'goons' could unleash violence Content: The involvement of young men carrying clubs and sticks to disrupt a protest last week has heightened fears that violence could mar today's demonstrations as well. Last week, groups of young men riding motorbikes, and armed with whips and clubs, attacked protesters in the capital Nairobi's central business district. Videos show the men - described locally as "goons" - seemingly working side-by-side with police, who fired teargas to try and disrupt the demonstrations. The police have denied any link, saying it did not condone such "unlawful groupings." A vendor was shot during the demonstration, sparking renewed outrage among Kenyans who accuse police of using excessive force against protesters. Police deny the allegation. Update: Date: 09:39 BST Title: Key roads to the city blocked Content: Razor wire was erected to block protesters from getting to parliament Key roads in the city have been barricaded as Kenyans return to the streets in the capital, Nairobi and elsewhere around the country to mark the first anniversary of the deadly anti-government protests that peaked with the storming of parliament, leaving at least 60 people dead. In Nairobi, motorists were being turned away at checkpoints some distance from the city centre, with people only allowed to proceed on foot. Many businesses in the city centre remain shut for fear of being targeted for looting or getting damaged in the demonstrations. There is a heavy deployment of security officers all around the city and in key state installations, including parliament and around State House, the president's official residence. Ahead of the protests, parliament had been barricaded with razor wire to prevent protesters from getting in. Update: Date: 09:38 BST Title: Police fire tear gas as protesters storm Kenyan streets Content: Police in Kenya have fired tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators who have taken to the streets in the country's major cities to mark the first anniversary of anti-government protests that culminated in the storming of parliament. Businesses and schools in the capital, Nairobi, have been closed due to fears of violence and looting. The protests come a year after the unprecedented demonstrations that saw parliament breached and over 60 people killed, with no convictions made so far sparking calls for justice and accountability.
