ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES ON HOLIDAY - SUMMER 2008

All inclusive cruises and foreign holidays are more popular now than ever, but people may not realise the action they can take if they suffer an injury or become ill while abroad.

If an accident happens, it may be possible to make a personal injury claim under English law if any holiday lasting for more than 24 hours was bought as a package for an inclusive price, and comprises at least 2 of the following items - transport (eg by road, rail, sea or air), accommodation, other tourist services (eg a pre-booked excursion or activity).  The same applies if a medical condition or illness is suffered, such as food poisoning. 

Claims are made against the travel company under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 on the basis of their improper performance of the holiday contract.

For a claim to succeed the injured person needs to show that the accident or incident happened due to a lack of reasonable care.  However, local health and safety standards will be relevant, and which may be lower than those applicable in the UK.  If successful, the level of injury compensation is based upon English law, rather than that of the country where the accident or incident took place.

If an accident happens during an activity that was not pre-booked as part of the holiday package, but was paid for by credit card, it may still be possible to make a claim under consumer credit law.  Claims are made against the credit card company on a similar basis.

COMMENT:-

Accidents on holiday often happen in hotels because of faulty equipment, the negligence of staff or wet floors that cause a slipping hazard.  They might also occur because of defective equipment used during an excursion, eg a chair collapsing on a boat trip.

Travel companies’ insurers sometimes vigorously defend the claims and it is therefore very important for the injured person to be represented by experienced personal injury claim solicitors, who understand the relevant law and procedure.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM SOLICITORS:-

If you have suffered an injury while on holiday, contact personal injury specialists Hinchliffes Solicitors for immediate legal advice, to find out if you are entitled to make claims for injury compensation.  All cases are dealt with on a No Win - No Fee basis and successful Clients keep 100% of the compensation recovered.

Call now on 0800 138 1348 to speak direct to a personal injury lawyer or go to our Start Your Claim Now page to submit details of your personal injury claim online.

Tags: accident, CHA, claim, claims, compensation, holidays, illness, injured, injury, personal injury specialists, solicitors

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 12:25 pm and is filed under ALL NEWS ITEMS, Holiday accidents.