Accidents Or Illness On Holiday

Holidays are usually a happy experience, but sometimes accidents happen or illness intervenes.

If you or a member of your family has suffered an accident or contracted an illness on holiday abroad during the course of a package holiday, you may be able to bring a claim for compensation. This is because package tour operators have strict responsibilities under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations 1992.

For example, if you suffer food poisoning as a result of a meal in your hotel, or if the bed collapses causing you injury, and in many other circumstances, you could be entitled to damages, and the claim can be brought against the tour company direct in the English or Welsh courts. We won such a case recently for this family.

If an accident happens, always keep a record and take photographs if possible; take the names and home addresses of witnesses; keep evidence of doctors visited and treatments, and keep receipts for any injury related expenses.

If your injury has nothing to do with your package holiday as such, or you have made your own travel arrangements, a claim may still be possible. Please see, for example our accidents at work section.

It is always important to obtain prompt specialist advice. The time limits for claiming, the rules which govern claims and the way in which compensation is assessed, vary from country to country.

Clear Answers specialist lawyers will be able to advise you whether a claim for compensation is possible and can give guidance and assistance on how a claim can be pursued.

Successful Holiday Cases

Our client was on holiday with his wife, his 17-year-old son and his daughter. He arranged to share a room with his wife and son, and was assured that there would be three adult beds in the room when booking the holiday.

When he arrived at the hotel, our client found the third bed was a folding camp bed. The folding bed was wedged between one of the single beds and a wall. To climb on and off the bed, he had to shuffle down to the end of the bed on his bottom. He complained about the bed on arrival but nothing was done. He chose to sleep in the camp bed as he was smaller than his six-foot son. On the first night, he shuffled to the end of the bed on his bottom to get off it and three of the bed slats collapsed under him, causing him to fall through the bed onto the floor, suffering serious injuries to his back.

The case was issued against the tour operator Thomsons.

If you do have a valid personal injury compensation claim and you decide to instruct Clear Answers to deal with the matter for you, we will recover our legal fees from the person responsible for your injury, ensuring that the entire procedure is cost-free for yourself. Telephone us now on 0800 783 9019 or complete one of our online compensation claim forms.