Injury lawyers advise how to claim abroad
Personal injury lawyers have advised holidaymakers who suffer an accident abroad that wasn’t their fault that they may still be eligible to claim compensation.
The law regarding claims for accidents abroad can be slightly complex. For instance, many accidents abroad are often traced back to the tour operator who are inevitably held responsible for any compensation sought, although obviously this only applies if the person claiming has purchased a package holiday.
If travelling alone securing compensation can be trickier as there are less likely to witnesses who can be contacted back in the UK, but it is by no means impossible.
Recent case studies show that successful claims can be made providing that all the necessary information is provided for the prosecution.
Cruise horror
For example a woman who broke her wrist on board a cruise ship recently won more than £10,000 in compensation due to her injuries.
The 46 year old was on a two week family holiday when she slipped on melted ice cream. The injury meant she had to take several weeks off work and still suffers the occasional niggling pain in her wrist, especially during cold weather.
It was her husband, who as a fire fighter was a member of the union FBU, who decided to seek advice on the matter. The union instructed it's lawyers to proceed with the claim.
He said: “It was a relief to know we had the FBU’s backing to pursue a claim for compensation. I knew that their free legal services extended to family members but I wasn’t sure if they would cover holiday claims as well.
“This accident completely ruined our holiday and my wife was forced to take sick leave from her job. The cruise company should have replaced the faulty machine before such an accident could happen.”
Spokesperson for the FBU Matt Wrack said: “Too often our members have what is supposed to be a relaxing holiday, destroyed by accidents which could easily have been avoided. We are only too pleased to support holiday injury claims.
“In the lead up to the summer months many of our members will be thinking about taking a break abroad and they can be reassured that if they do get hurt due to someone else's fault as part of the free legal service for FBU members we would be happy to help.”
Successful compensation claims can even happen if you haven’t quite reached your holiday destination.
Flying
Only last month a holidaymaker won her compensation claim from an airline after she was injured in the toilet cubicle.
The passenger required 14 stitches in the back of her head after a cabinet fell off the wall during the flight from Kuala Lumpar.
The airline, KLM, offered to settle the claim for £2,000, but after negotiations with UNISON’s personal injury lawyers, increased the amount to £6,500.
The woman said: “The accident really shook me. I ended up with 14 stitches in my head and passed out in the airplane toilet. Without UNISON and Thompsons’ help I would not have received the maximum amount of compensation achievable. I would urge all members to use this facility if they are unfortunate to have an accident while on holiday”