Every year, thousands of people suffer injuries from accidents or illnesses whilst abroad. Having an accident on holiday can be very stressful. Not only do you have to go through the trauma of being injured, but you also have to endure it in an unfamiliar setting way, away from friends or family.

Having an accident abroad can have severe consequences, causing disabling injuries, loss of earnings and even the inability to look after others. Sometimes, holiday accidents happen because of an individual’s mistake or because of negligence from others.

If you have been injured or contracted an illness on holiday, and it was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation.

If you have been injured in a holiday accident, it is likely that you have many questions regarding whether you are eligible to make a claim for holiday accident compensation and how to make a claim. Below is a summary to help you with these questions:

Holiday accident compensation: what can I make a holiday accident claim for?

In simple terms, you can make a claim for an accident abroad that was not your fault. There are a variety of reasons that you may sustain an injury or illness whilst on holiday and most are down to a lack of safety standards. Here are just some examples that might have happened to you meaning you may be entitled to holiday accident compensation:

• Slips, trips or falls due to poor levels of flooring in a holiday accommodation or path within a hotel premises. This can lead to injuries such as broken bones or bad sprains.
• If you suffered an accident in a swimming pool that was not your fault. Accidents in swimming pools can lead to injuries such as fractures or broken bones.
• If you contracted food poisoning after eating food or drinking water in the hotel restaurant, especially if other guests suffer from the same food poisoning. Whilst food poisoning is usually temporary, it can have longer lasting effects such as high blood pressure.
• Any road traffic accidents while travelling in a holiday coach or vehicle organised by your hotel or tour operator, causing injuries such as whiplash or in more severe cases internal bleeding.
• If you have slipped and injured yourself on any type of spillage, broken glass or leak in the hotel or hotel grounds. This can lead to injuries such as deep gashes or wounds.
• Accidents on an aeroplane or other transport

As well as physical injuries, there are also psychological injuries that individuals can suffer from after a holiday accident which can be just as debilitating. An example of this type of injury is depression that can be brought on as a result of the incident or frustration if individuals can no longer do something that they enjoy.

If you are suffering from one of these injuries, or you are claiming on behalf of someone else, due to any of these reasons or a large amount of others, you should consider making a claim or getting a quote from a holiday accident solicitor.

Holiday accident compensation: making a claim

Holiday accident claims can be harder than other types of claims. Typically, your claims process will be made in the country in which your accident occurred in and is therefore, subject to the laws of that country. This could affect your rights or the amount of compensation you could receive.

Although, there are bodies and regulations that have been set up in order to help people get the compensation that they need after an accident. For example, the 1992 Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tour regulation helps holiday accident compensation claims.

In order to claim for an accident, the most important thing you should do is gather evidence to support your claim that the accident or illness was in no way your fault. If you intend to make any holiday accident claims, you should:

• Report the injury or illness to your travel company, hotel staff or tour rep immediately after the accident has occurred.
• Following this, you should make a note of the accident in the hotel log book. Take the contact details of witnesses if there was any and if it is possible take photographs of the area in which the accident took place.
• Keep any receipts of any travelling and prescriptions expenses that you may have incurred which are associated with the accident.
• If you have received medical attention from a healthcare professional, you should retain any medical records or prescriptions that you may have received as they could be asked for further down the line.

The more of these pieces of evidence you obtain, the stronger your holiday accident case will be and will allow the court to award you a fair compensation sum to cover all of your medical, travel and out of pocket expenses.

The general rule for holiday accident claims is that you have a three-year time limit from the date of the injury or illness to have either settled your claim or started court proceedings where the injury occurred at work. This is called the claim litigation period.

The three-year deadline commences from the date that the injury occurred, or from the date on which you realised that your injury or illness was associated with medical negligence. The three-year time limit for claiming compensation does not apply to under 18s however, it will come into effect after their 18th birthday. There is also no time limit for individuals that lack the mental capacity to make a claim themselves.

Holiday accident compensation: how will my compensation be calculated?

There are different types of holiday accident claims that can be made following injuries from negligence that was not your fault. Law firms can provide clarity and estimate what amount you could potentially receive in compensation. Here are some of the things that your compensation can be calculated with:

• The severity of your injury
• Loss of benefits
• Length of recovery
• Loss of projected earnings
• Impact on daily life
• Loss of earnings

Usually, personal injury claims are made up of two areas, general damages and special damages.

General damages cover physical injuries, these damages take the severity of your injuries into consideration as the more severe your injuries are, the higher the compensation levels are likely to be.

Special damages cover the financial impact the accident had. This includes loss of earnings which will depend on the severity of your injuries and the type of job that you do. Special damages also cover any medical treatments that you may need.

If your family, friends or others have been required to provide you with additional care due to your injuries, then they may also be eligible to receive compensation for their time.

Holiday accident compensation: how can Wildwood Legal assist?

People save up for and look forward to that time of year when they can get away for a holiday. We’re exactly the same. And we understand that there can be few things more disappointing than if this is ruined by you suffering an accident whilst you’re away.

Accidents abroad require specialist knowledge and can be extremely complicated. You need to be in the hands of a firm who know the pitfalls and the traps to avoid.

We have acted for people who have suffered all sorts of accidents whilst abroad, including people who have been involved in car or motorbike accidents, swimming pool injuries, accidents in hotels. We have also acted for cabin crew who have suffered injuries whilst carrying out their job in-flight.

We can help you and guide you through the complicated processes involved in a claim. We will fight tooth and nail to recover the compensation to which you are entitled and will keep you fully informed at every stage.

If you have suffered an accident whilst on holiday, give us a call and let us try and help you. That’s what we are here for.

You can contact us via email info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk or by phone 0113 320 5000.