A British man, aged 53, died in Jamaica after a cocktail-drinking challenge which saw him attempt to consume 21 different drinks, an inquest has heard.
Timothy Southern died in May 2022, with his family having to raise money to bring his body back to the UK.
Following his death, the man’s family have spoken out about the allegedly “disgusting” treatment he received from a nurse. They also criticised the hotel where the pool bar drinking challenge took place.
He is said to have drunk 12 cocktails before returning to his hotel room. He later became sick and died at the hotel.
Family of British man who died after cocktail drinking challenge speak out
Timothy Southern was on holiday with his sister, children and other relatives when tragedy struck. One of his loved ones told the inquest into his death that they rushed to Timothy’s room when the alarm was raised. “He was on his back choking. I put him in the recovery position. I screamed for an ambulance.”
They added that he did not respond to his name after vomiting. The family also spoke out about the “disgusting” treatment Timothy is said to have received from a nurse. They allegedly asked the nurse if an ambulance had been called and she said “no”.
The family member explained: “I was starting to lose it. I got a full look at his face and I thought he had passed away. I said: ‘Don’t just sit there looking at him, start CPR.’ She only gave him chest compressions. Maybe if she had known what she was doing, maybe he would still be here. The service and treatment he received was disgusting.”
Coroner’s ruling on cause of death
The inquest heard that Timothy had already been drinking brandy and beer in the morning when he met two Canadian women trying to complete the 21 cocktail challenge before midnight to celebrate one of their birthdays.
A pathologist in Kingston, Jamaica, gave the cause of death as “acute gastroenteritis due to alcohol consumption”. But the inquest heard toxicology reports could take three years to come back from Jamaica.
Staffordshire area coroner Emma Serrano ruled his death was ruled as alcohol-related.
Family raised nearly £10,000 to bring him home
Timothy’s family raised almost £10,000 on GoFundMe to bring his body home to the UK. They discovered that the insurance they thought Timothy had through his bank would not cover him. A statement from the family read: “As you’re all probably aware; unfortunately our dad, Timmy Southern passed away whilst on holiday in Jamaica. Unfortunately, after doing some digging to find information about his insurance we have found out that he’s not actually covered by his bank (as he had originally thought).”
It continues: “This leaves us with an impossibly large amount of money to find in order to bring him home and pay for his funeral. We know Dad was loved by so many with friends all over the world, the biggest character most would ever come across. We’re hoping by doing this we could try to raise as much money as we can to get him home so that we, as a family, get to say our goodbyes.”
The family then added: “Anything that is left over from the funds we raise will go to the MIND charity.” You can donate to the GoFundMe here.
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