Newlyweds compensated after honeymoon bus crash
A newly-wed couple have received compensation after suffering from personal injuries as a result of a car accident during a once in a lifetime cruise in the Mediterranean.
The couple from Leeds were in Italy when their Italian tour bus was involved in a head-on-collision, which led to one fatality.
They were half way through their dream holiday in June 2008 when the bus was forced to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with a car as they travelled through a tunnel between the Italian cities of Sorrento and Pompeii.
The bus, carrying passengers from their cruise ship on an excursion, crashed into the tunnel walls, leaving the driver seriously injured and its passengers with varying personal injuries. The driver of the on-coming car was killed.
The man and wife, aged 34 and 39-years-old respectively were sitting just four rows from the front of the bus. The man watched in horror as the approaching car pulled out of its lane to try to overtake and smashed straight into the bus. His quick reactions meant he was able to brace himself and his new wife against the full impact of the crash.
Serious bruises and cuts
The woman however, suffered from severe bruising on her legs and cuts to her hands and face. The man had minor cuts and bruises also to his face and hands. He has said that since the accident he still suffers from flashbacks.
And more than a year on, the woman still has a lump on her leg despite receiving physiotherapy.
The couple had married just a week earlier in Leeds after being together for six years, were on a cruise which had already stopped in Tunisia and Naples. They were travelling to visit the city of Pompeii before the ship sailed for Florence and Monte Carlo.
Following the accident they were taken to a local hospital for treatment. Those passengers who were well enough were able to continue their cruise. The woman said the road accident ruined what should have been the best holiday of their lives.
Speaking about the incident, she said: "We were fortunate that our injuries weren't worse. We were able to continue our holiday, but my leg was so badly injured I wasn't able to go on any more excursions. Despite having paid in advance for trips to visit a number of cities, but we had to sit and watch while everyone else disembarked. We said one day we would have to come back to finish the cruise properly.
She added: "It should have been a dream holiday, but the crash left us shocked and injured."
Help from the lawyers
When the couple returned home to their jobs working as call handlers for West Yorkshire Police's Killingbeck Area Command, they were advised by their supervisor, a GMB representative, to get help from the union's lawyers.
The GMB instructed a legal form to advise them with making a personal injury claim. While an accident abroad of this kind, on a package booked in the UK would usually be compensated as if the accident happened in the UK under the package holiday regulations, it wasn't in the couple's case because the excursion was not booked at the same time as the holiday.
The legal firm representing the couple took on the insurers of the coach who settled the claim with the woman receiving £1,200 and the man receiving £774. The compensation would have been higher in the UK but damages were assessed under Italian law where compensation is traditionally lower than in the UK.
The woman said: "When we returned home we were sent information from the holiday company but it seemed like a complicated process and the chances of us getting the money back for the excursions we missed seemed unlikely. We decided then to instruct the GMB's solicitors. The compensation will help us to take another holiday soon."
Tim Roache from the GMB union, said: "Too often our members have what is supposed to be a relaxing holiday, destroyed by accidents which are no fault of their own. We are only too pleased to support holiday injury claims as part of the free legal service for GMB members."
Clare Goldberg from the legal firm, said: "This couple's dream holiday was ruined. They were fortunate they did not sustain more serious injuries but it is only right that they received compensation for injuries which were bad enough to have a huge impact on their honeymoon and on their lives after they returned."
Updated on 15/09/2009