When you book a holiday, you might imagine a nice break away from it all. However, you may have suffered injuries while abroad. In certain cases, you might be entitled to personal injury compensation. This guide examines holiday accident claims.
It will focus mainly on making a holiday accident claim under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018. This was introduced to hold package holiday providers accountable should a traveller suffer an injury or illness due to them being negligent. It is not always clear when you can claim for a holiday accident, so we have provided a few examples for you to relate to. This guide also seeks to answer questions you may have about how compensation could be awarded in a successful claim.
If you have a valid reason to claim compensation, you may like to do so with the support of a personal injury solicitor. This guide concludes with a look at how a solicitor can help with your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.
If you have any questions about claiming for accidents while abroad, speak to a member of our advisory team. To discuss holiday accident compensation:
- Call 020 8050 2736
- Request a call back using our claim online form.
- Ask, ‘How can a holiday accident claims solicitor help me?’ in our live chat.
Select A Section
- What Are Holiday Accident Claims?
- What Are The Different Types of Holiday Accidents?
- How Much Compensation From An Accident On Holiday Claim?
- What Evidence Could Help You Claim Holiday Accident Compensation?
- Why Seek Holiday Accident Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis?
- Learn More About Holiday Accident Claims
What Are Holiday Accident Claims?
If you sustained injuries on a package holiday abroad, you may wonder if you are eligible to claim compensation in the UK. It depends on where you suffered your injuries. For example, if you sustained injuries while in the hotel, you might be eligible to make your claim in the UK. However, if you broke your ankle in a slip, trip and fall in a bar that was not part of the package holiday, you would need to file your claim in the country the accident occurred. This will mean that your personal injury claim will be subject to the laws of that country.
Additionally, when you claim under UK legislation, whether for an accident abroad or one that occurred while on a package holiday within the country, you must satisfy certain eligibility criteria.
To make a personal injury claim under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 against the tour operator, you must be able to show:
- That at the time and place of your accident the tour operator owed you a duty of care. A duty of care is placed on responsible third parties to ensure others are kept reasonably safe. When you book a package holiday, you are owed this duty on the components of the package, such as in the hotel.
- This duty of care was breached. For example, the tour operator was informed about the faulty handrail on the hotel’s stairs, but the operator failed to have it repaired.
- Due to this breach, you suffered multiple injuries. For example, you fell down the stairs due to the faulty handrail and suffered multiple fractures.
Direct any questions you have about holiday accident claims to a member of our advisory team.
What Are The Different Types of Holiday Accidents?
There are various ways you could sustain injuries in a holiday accident.
Examples of holiday accidents include:
- Slip, trip, and fall accidents due to a wet floor in the hotel. For example, the floor may have been freshly mopped, but a sign warning of the hazard wasn’t in place. Wet floor signs or another way to warn holidaymakers of slip hazards should be used by the hotel.
- Broken tiles can cause swimming pool accidents. For example, you could trip and fall over uneven pavement or broken tiles. To prevent injuries, defective flooring must be repaired in a timely manner.
- Food poisoning in the hotel restaurant. The package provider should ensure that hotel restaurants meet food safety standards. If they were made aware of a problem, such as food being left out at room temperature for too long, and failed to take action, you could suffer food poisoning.
Common Injuries From A Holiday Accident
There are various injuries you could sustain in a holiday accident. These include:
- Brain injury.
- Back injury.
- Neck injury.
- Shoulder injury.
- Broken bones, such as a fractured wrist or ankle.
- Facial injuries, including a permanent scar and a fractured nose.
- Food poisoning.
Call our advisors to discuss the incident that caused your injuries. They can help assess this against the holiday accident claims eligibility critiera.
How Much Compensation From An Accident On Holiday Claim?
Settlements for successful holiday accident claims may consist of two parts under UK law. These are general damages to compensate for the physical pain and emotional suffering and special damages for the incurred expenses.
When valuing the injuries caused by the holiday accident, those tasked with doing so, such as a personal injury solicitor or other legal professionals, may refer to the compensation guidelines published by the Judicial College (JCG). The JCG provides guidance when assigning value to personal injury claims filed in England and Wales.
In our table below, we look at figures from the 17th edition of the JCG. However, the top row is not from the JCG. This row shows how an injured person can be compensated for more than one severe injury and special damages. As all claims are different, the table is only to be used as a guideline.
| Injury | Severity | Notes | Compensation Guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Severe Injuries and Special Damages | Very Severe | Settlements may compensate for more than one severe injury and incurred costs, such as nursing expenses and lost income. | Up to £1,000,000+ |
| Brain Damage | Very Severe | Injured persons require full time nursing due to severe disabilities, both cognitive and physical. | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Back Injuries | Severe (i) | Severe pain and disability, such as incomplete paralysis and impaired bladder, bowel and sexual function, from damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots. | £111,150 to £196,450 |
| Neck Injuries | Severe (ii) | Considerably severe disabilities, such as substantial loss of movement in the neck and loss of function in one or more limbs, from serious fractures and disc damage. | £80,240 to £159,770 |
| Leg Injuries | Severe (ii) | Very serious injuries cause permanent mobility problems and required extensive treatment. | £66,920 to £109,290 |
| Wrist Injuries | Loss of Function | Injuries resulted in the loss of function of the wrist. | £58,710 to £73,050 |
| Arm Injuries | Permanent and Substantial Disability | There's a significant residual disability (either functional or cosmetic) that is permanent in nature due to serious forearm fractures. | £47,810 to £73,050 |
| Food Poisoning | Severe | Hospital admission is required for acute pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and fever. A significant impact on lifestyle enjoyment by continuing incontinence, haemorrhoids and irritable bowel syndrome. | £46,900 to £64,070 |
| Ankle Injuries | Severe | These injuries cause a significant residual disability, such as a limited ability to walk due to ankle instability. | £38,210 to £61,090 |
| Shoulder Injuries | Severe | Significant disability from brachial plexus damage. | £23,430 to £58,610 |
Additionally, if you make a successful claim, you can be compensated for your out-of-pocket costs resulting from the holiday injury. This means that you can be compensated for:
- Any costs arising from changing flights if you suffered an accident abroad.
- Other medical transport costs.
- Hotel stays
- Loss of enjoyment, for example, if your injury meant you never enjoyed your holiday
- Lost excursions
- Loss of earnings.
- Domestic help, such as with childcare or cleaning.
- Nursing expenses.
- Medical expenses.
You should save evidence of your expenses, such as receipts, invoices, bank statements and payslips, because you may need to submit this as part of your holiday accident claim.
Direct any questions you may have about how compensation could be awarded for successful holiday accident claims to a member of our team.
What Evidence Could Help You Claim Holiday Accident Compensation?
If you are seeking holiday accident compensation, you must have evidence. This needs to prove liability for the injuries you suffered. Examples of evidence that can help holiday accident claims include:
- Correspondence between yourself and the holiday provider or third party (such as the hotel). For example, if you wrote an official complaint, you can submit this along with any response that was sent to you.
- Accident footage, such as from a mobile phone.
- Photographs. For example, you may have taken pictures at the scene or of the item that caused your injury, such as a broken tile. Additionally, you may have visible injuries you can photograph.
- Medical records can help illustrate what treatment you needed and the nature of your injuries. You can request copies of the records for any medical treatment you had, including treatment undergone when you returned to the UK.
- Witness contact details. If anyone saw the incident, they can provide a witness statement at a later date if you collect their contact information.
Contact a member of our team for free advice about what items could help your holiday accident compensation claim.
Why Seek Holiday Accident Compensation On A No Win No Fee Basis?
If you are eligible to claim for your holiday accident, you may like to have a personal injury solicitor to support your case. One of the No Win No Fee solicitors from our panel could help you through the claims process. Generally, the solicitors from our panel provide their No Win No Fee service under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
When your solicitor provides a No Win No Fee service, you:
- Won’t need to pay upfront for their work on your holiday accident claim.
- Don’t need to pay any fees while your holiday compensation claim is ongoing.
- Won’t be asked to pay for your solicitor’s services if your holiday injury claim fails.
- Only have a small success fee taken from your award if your claim succeeds. This amount is a percentage capped by a legal limit.
If you have any further questions about holiday accident claims, one of our advisors could help. Additionally, if you meet the eligibility requirements and wish to pursue a claim, you could be connected to one of the personal injury solicitors from our panel.
To discuss accident on holiday claims:
- Call 020 8050 2736
- Fill in our claim online form and an advisor will call you.
- Ask about holiday accident compensation claims in our live chat.
Learn More About Holiday Accident Claims nn
Further guidance on personal injury claims:
- Information about cruise ship injury compensation.
- Guidance on making an injured at a hotel compensation claim.
- Details about claiming theme park accident compensation.
External links you might find useful:
- Details about foreign travel insurance from the government.
- Checklist for foreign travel from the government.
- Guidance on providing first aid from the NHS.
Speak to an advisor about holiday accident claims.