Scalded woman receives £35k compensation
A woman from Birmingham has received £35,000 in compensation, after she was severely scalded while on holiday.
The woman, aged 69, received the sum when she made an accident claim after she was left scarred for life when she was scalded in a shower at a Portuguese hotel. She had travelled to the Algarve resort of Praia Do Vau in Portugal in July 2004 for a two-week holiday with her family when the accident took place.
A few days into the holiday, while she was taking a shower, she turned off the 'cold' tap and was scalded by extremely hot water.
The taps were not labelled to indicate whether they were hot or cold. She tried to turn off the hot water but was in such unbearable pain that in so doing she slipped and fell, landing on her side and leaving her exposed to the scalding water.
She explained: "I lay there screaming and feeling completely helpless for what seemed like an eternity. I tried to move and curl up to minimise the amount of skin contact with the hot water but I was not able to.
"I was in such agony. I can only describe it as a sharp blinding pain, which felt like l had been stabbed or set on fire. I could not move. The longer the water was scalding me the worse the pain became and l was unable to do anything to prevent it. It was like a real life nightmare."
Severe burns
Fortunately, her granddaughter heard her screams and came to her aid, turning off the tap and helping her out of the bath.
She was taken to hospital with burns to her body from the waist down. She was treated for shock, put on a drip because of her dehydration and given strong pain killers to help with the extreme pain she was in. She also underwent surgery to have skin grafts on her waist to replace the skin that was burned away.
She stayed in a Portuguese hospital for two weeks and was then flown back to the UK. On her arrival she was taken straight to the specialist burns unit at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham.
At present, she still suffers with pain from her wounds and has to regularly take painkillers: "I have to take two Tramadol and two Paracetamol tablets every four hours. Before the accident I hardly ever used to take painkillers, but since the accident I am reliant upon them. I also have to apply E45 cream and aqueous cream to the wound twice a day otherwise it becomes very dry and will begin to itch.
"I am constantly aware of the pain and feel upset that I have no choice but to put up with it. I have forced myself to accept that it is part of me and my life now. I always feel a constant pulling and tugging feeling from the wounds and get intermittent shooting pains, which are made worse by cold weather."
Flashbacks and sleepless nights
"Following the accident l would lie awake at night scared to go to sleep in case l had a nightmare or flashback of the accident and even to this day l occasionally wake up suddenly from my sleep. I also suffered from increased levels of pain and agitation from my injuries at night and the pain was sometimes too severe to allow me to fall asleep, so l would just lie there thinking of what happened."
Solicitor Amandeep Dhillon represented the victim in her caseagainst the tour operator who admitted liability for the accident. Following an out of court settlement for the sum of £35,000, Mr Dhillon said: "The accident has had a serious and permanent impact on her health and lifestyle. Although no amount of money can turn back the clock, we are pleased to have obtained a good financial settlement which will help to compensate for the pain and suffering she has endured."
"She will have to live with the scars - both physical and emotional - as a result of what happened. We can only hope that in their bicentennial year, the tour operator ensures that all of its hotels and other suppliers learn lessons from this incident and implement the appropriate health and safety measures to ensure the safety of all of their customers."
Updated on 4/23/2009