Accidents on holiday claims solicitors

Some holidays bring with them an element of risk, for example going on holiday to enjoy your winter sports, and there are also holidays purely to spend time relaxing in the sun.  While there may be more hazards when trying out your new skis, that doesn’t eliminate the possibility of an accident by the pool.

If you have had any of the following incidents while on holiday that were caused by the negligence of a third party, we may be able to assist with your claim for compensation:

• Ski-ing, snowboarding or other winter sport injuries – this can include broken bones, muscle injuries or more serious brain, head or spinal catastrophic injuries.  There are a number of ways that this could happen; through faulty equipment, improper instruction, malfunctioning machinery or collisions.
• Slip, trip or fall from wet flooring, obtrusive objects or lack of signage.
• Accidents in hotels, such as balcony falls due to an issue with the arrangements in the hotel.
• Injuries on a planned excursion, such as a serious road traffic accident.
• Injuries on the transport such as on the plane or coach – this can include luggage falling from overhead compartments, burns, scalds or incidents involving the refreshment trolley service, heavy landings or turbulence.

This is not an exhaustive list of incidents that can occur, so if you have experienced a different situation, do contact us to discuss in more detail.

No matter the circumstances surrounding the incident that led to your injuries, we would always recommend the following steps in order to document the event and assist in proving the liability lays with a third party:

• Take photographs of the scene, any objects that led to the accident and see if there is any CCTV available.
• Take contact details of any witnesses.
• Seek medical advice, even if your injuries do not appear to be severe at first.  This will assist with future medical reports in a claim for compensation.  When doing so, ensure you keep any receipts for travel costs or medical treatment while abroad.
• Notify the accommodation management and request that the details are entered into their accident report book. 
• You should also notify your insurer and the travel company.

Once back in the UK, you should then seek additional medical advice and contact us as soon as possible.  Due to current regulations relating to compensation claims made for accidents on holiday abroad, you may only have two years to make a claim, or depending on the law of the country in question it could only be several months, so don’t delay in giving us a call.

The law regarding compensation claims when injured abroad can be complex, which is why we would always recommend that you contact us as soon as possible to understand the position and your options.  Generally, your claim would be made in the country where you had the accident and so would be determined by their regulations, but this could be determined by where you had the accident and how you booked the holiday.

If you have booked your holiday through a package provider, there is legislation that can assist you in bringing a claim, such as the 1992 Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tour Regulations Act, and having the relevant insurances in place will support you in the event of any unforeseen cancellations and if you have an accident. 

The location of the accident is also important, for example, if you sustained an injury through the fault of the resort you are staying on, you could bring a claim against the UK based travel provider, if you have booked this holiday as part of a holiday package. However if you had the same incident in the local town and not while on an excursion arranged by your tour provider, this would be outside of their remit and the claim would need to be made differently.

In the event that you have booked independently, your hotel and travel provider still have a responsibility towards your health and safety and so you may still be able to make a claim.  We can discuss this with you when you contact us.

When considering the amount of compensation that you may receive for your injuries, the following criteria are usually taken into account:

• Loss of earnings for the period you are unable to work and any future losses
• Medical expenses while abroad and back in the UK
• Travel expenses
• Care and rehabilitation
• Any adjustments or modifications to be made to your home as a result of the injury
• Loss of enjoyment of your holiday, which is an important factor when you have had an accident abroad as you are not only dealing with the stress and pain of the injury, but this will be heightened due to the unfamiliarity of your surroundings.

We will help you every step of the way in gaining your compensation, as well as providing you with the necessary support in terms of rehabilitation or physiotherapy needs.