logo
Manager sues for £250k after being thrown into luxury hotel pool

Manager sues for £250k after being thrown into luxury hotel pool

Telegraph25-06-2025
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.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Man dies after car crashes into tree in Ketton
Man dies after car crashes into tree in Ketton

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Man dies after car crashes into tree in Ketton

A man in his 30s has died after the car he was travelling in left the road and crashed into a tree in Police was called at 19:20 BST on Friday after a single-vehicle crash involving a black Vauxhall Astra in Ketton Road, between Ketton and North officers arrived the man had been pulled from the car and the vehicle was alight, police was pronounced dead at the scene, the force added. Det Sgt Jack Cornick said: "We have an account from one witness, but we know this black Astra was driving behind another car."I'd like to speak to the driver of that car to see whether they have any helpful information about the collision."I'd also like to speak to anyone who saw the Astra as it was leaving Ketton and who may have dashcam footage of the car."Any small piece of information may be helpful."

Lover of dentist who murdered his wife on safari for her breaks her silence from jail
Lover of dentist who murdered his wife on safari for her breaks her silence from jail

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Lover of dentist who murdered his wife on safari for her breaks her silence from jail

The lover of a married dentist who gunned down his wife during an African safari in order to be with her has broken her silence from behind bars. Lori Milliron, 67, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for her role as an accessory to the brutal murder of Bianca Rudolph, who was shot in the heart by her husband Lawrence 'Larry' Rudolph during a hunting trip in Zambia. The shocking case has now been featured in the new Hulu docuseries Trophy Wife: Murder on Safari, which argues the Pennsylvania dentist's own arrogance became his downfall. But his lover, who was accused of being his 'partner in crime ' still insists she she's not a killer. Speaking from prison in the ABC News Studios production, Milliron vehemently denies she pressured Rudolph into killing his wife of 34 years to be with her. 'There was no ultimatum. Why would I wait 15 years to give him an ultimatum? It just didn't make sense,' Milliron said over the prison phone in video obtained by Business Insider. Milliron and her lover were ultimately nabbed after a bar worker claimed he overheard Rudolph yell: 'I killed my f***ing wife for you' during an argument. 'I'm not violent. I didn't kill anybody. I didn't hurt anybody. But they really wanted to put me in jail,' Milliron said from jail. Speaking from prison in the ABC News Studios production, Milliron (pictured left with lover Larry Rudolph) vehemently denies she pressured Rudolph into killing his wife of 34 years to be with her Rudolph was charged in December 2021 for the murder. The 68-year-old claimed his wife accidentally shot herself while she was packing to head back home. He said he was in the bathroom when he heard his wife say, 'come here and help me' before hearing the shot and finding his wife on the floor bleeding. 'The police did an investigation and they said it was an accident,' Milliron said. 'Everyone believed that it was an accident, so I assumed it was an accident as well.' After Bianca's death, her dentist husband fraudulently claimed $4.8 million in life insurance payouts. During his trial, the prosecution told jurors that Rudolph was overheard blurting out: 'I killed my f***ing wife for you!' during an argument with Milliron at a Phoenix steakhouse in 2020, after he learned that the FBI was investigating his wife's death. Rudolph has denied confessing to his wife's killing. Rudolph claimed what he actually said was, 'Now they're saying I killed my f***ing wife for you.' He said he and Milliron were having an argument about their finances and how the COVID-19 pandemic would affect the Pennsylvania dental franchise that had made him a small fortune. But he was irritated because he said his top concern was the FBI's probe. A jury of six men and six women sided with prosecutors - who believed the dentist pre-planned to kill his wife of 34 years in cold blood to begin a new life with Milliron. Milliron was found guilty by the same jury of being an accessory after the fact to murder, obstruction of a grand jury. She was also convicted of providing false and misleading testimony to a grand jury about the money and the nature of the relationship with Rudolph. Milliron was found not guilty on three other counts of perjury. During the hearing, she told the judge that she was innocent of the crimes, but the judge proclaimed that the lengthy sentence was deserved based on the evidence that Milliron encouraged the heinous act.

DAN HODGES: This is why I think Farage and Rayner are right - Britain is now a nation on the brink
DAN HODGES: This is why I think Farage and Rayner are right - Britain is now a nation on the brink

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

DAN HODGES: This is why I think Farage and Rayner are right - Britain is now a nation on the brink

Becky lives about ten minutes from The Bell Hotel in Epping. She used to pass by it when she went for a stroll with her daughter on nearby Bell Common. But that stopped when the asylum seekers arrived. 'I drive her past here now,' she tells me. 'It doesn't feel safe.' It's why she's joined the small group of protesters standing by steel railings, and surrounded by a polite, but large, group of police officers.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store