How to protect your family in the upcoming holiday season

As the days begin to lengthen our thoughts turn to holidays and we consider the steps you should consider before booking your holiday and what you should do if you suffer an injury whilst you are on holiday.

Molly Puntis, Claims Handler in the Private Injury team at Warner Goodman LLP, says:

“When booking a holiday, to give yourself the very best protection, book a Package holiday as defined under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. This means the travel and accommodation are booked through the same company, based in England and Wales and regulated by ABTA and ATOL. Be aware that if you book the travel and accommodation separately through the internet this is not classed as a package holiday and you will not be able to gain the protection offered by the 1992 Regulations.

The Regulations protect the holidaymaker by stating that the tour operator is liable for any damage caused by a breach of contract which may include an injury for example tripping over a poorly maintained area within the hotel or slipping on a spillage.

When considering whether there has been a breach the court will assess the conditions in accordance with safety standards of that particular country which may be lower than in the UK” warns Molly.

“If you do have the misfortune of being injured whilst on holiday you should obtain as much information and photographs as you can at the time and ensure that the accident is reported to the hotel etc. and to the holiday rep. It is important that you obtain legal advice upon your arrival home as different time limits apply for bringing holiday claims depending upon where your accident occurred, but these will generally be 2 or 3 years from the date of your accident”.

 If you have a question about an email you sustained on holiday you can contact Molly on 023 8071 7418 or email her at mollypuntis@warnergoodman.co.uk. You can also contact the Personal Injury team on 0800 91 92 30 or email injuryteam@warnergoodman.co.uk. 

ENDS

This is for information purposes only and is no substitute for, and should not be interpreted as, legal advice.  All content was correct at the time of publishing and we cannot be held responsible for any changes that may invalidate this article.