If you suffer an accident on holiday abroad, your trip can be ruined by the pain caused by your injuries and the associated costs. Fortunately, in some cases, you could seek compensation for an accident on holiday abroad when you return to the UK. Whether you’ve suffered sickness on holiday abroad or have been injured at your hotel, while on a day trip, in a road traffic accident, or at the airport, if the injury was not your fault, you could be eligible to make a holiday accident abroad claim for compensation.
We have a team of specialist solicitors who could make the claim for you. If your case is suitable, your claim will be managed on a No Win No Fee basis which will make things a lot less stressful.
Once you’ve finished reading our guide, please call us on 0800 6524 881 to discuss how we can help with the claims process.
Table of contents
- Am I Eligible To Make A Holiday Abroad Accident Claim?
- Evidence To Support A Holiday Abroad Accident Claim
- Common Causes Of An Accident On Holiday Abroad
- Common Injuries From An Accident Abroad Compensation Could Be Claimed For
- How Much Compensation For An Accident On Holiday Abroad Could I Claim?
- Time Limits For Claiming Accident Abroad Compensation
- Starting The Holiday Accident Abroad Claims Process
Am I Eligible To Make A Holiday Abroad Accident Claim?
As with all personal injury claims in the UK, to seek damages for an accident on holiday abroad, you’ll need to show that:
- Somebody acted negligently; and
- They owed you a duty of care; and
- Due to their negligence, an accident happened in which you were injured.
Gathering evidence to support your holiday abroad accident claim is really important, and we show you what you could do for evidence below.
Evidence To Support A Holiday Abroad Accident Claim
Getting evidence quickly to support your compensation claim for an accident on holiday abroad is important when you consider you won’t be in the country for too long. Therefore, if an accident abroad does happen, you should:
- Report it to your holiday rep if you have one – this is to allow them to resolve the issue there and then.
- Take photographs of the accident scene including the cause of the accident.
- Make a note of the names and contact numbers for any witnesses.
- See if CCTV footage is available of the area.
- Get medical treatment for your injuries.
- Keep a record of all costs associated with your treatment. This can range from medication costs to flight costs if your injuries prevent you from travelling home on your scheduled date.
Importantly, compensation claims are possible when you return to the UK if you booked a package holiday. To classify as a package holiday you need to have purchased two or more elements of your trip through the same holiday company. These elements include flights, hotels, car hire and excursions. Therefore, even if your trip isn’t labelled as a package holiday, you could still be eligible to claim.
Common Causes Of An Accident On Holiday Abroad
There are many ways your holiday abroad can be ruined because of somebody else’s negligence. We won’t list every scenario here but some common examples of holiday accidents abroad claim include:
- Slips, trips or falls. These can happen just about anywhere from your hotel to a shopping mall. If they were caused by a wet floor where no warning signs were used, for example, you could be eligible to claim.
- Excursion accidents. You could claim compensation if you are injured whilst on an excursion because of inadequate safety training, faulty equipment, or lack of supervision.
- Airport accidents. Claims might be possible if you are injured at the airport because of the operator’s negligence.
- Food poisoning. You could seek damages if there is an outbreak of food poisoning in the hotel and you’re made ill because of a lack of hygiene measures.
- Hotel accidents. Compensations claims for a hotel accident could include balcony falls, injuries caused by a damaged chair or other furniture and electric shock caused by faulty equipment.
Again, this isn’t a comprehensive list of reasons you could claim. Essentially, if you’re injured in an accident caused by somebody else, you could be compensated. Please call today on 0800 6524 881 and we’ll provide advice on your claim for free.
Common Injuries From An Accident Abroad Compensation Could Be Claimed For
Some common injuries suffered in accidents abroad that you could claim compensation for include::
- Food poisoning.
- Scalds or burns.
- Soft tissue injuries.
- Cuts and bruises.
We can’t list every injury here of course so you could still be eligible to claim whether your injury is listed or not.
How Much Compensation For An Accident On Holiday Abroad Could I Claim?
When you file a compensation claim for an accident on holiday abroad, several factors are used to determine how much compensation should be paid. They include:
- How much pain and suffering you have endured.
- What effect the injuries have had on your holiday accident abroad.
- Whether you incurred costs or expenses linked to your injuries.
Until you have had your case reviewed by a specialist, it is difficult to estimate how much you might be paid in compensation. Therefore, why not call today and let us review your claim for free? One of our solicitors could provide a personalised compensation estimate once they know all of the details about your case.
Should your claim have strong enough grounds, we could appoint a solicitor for you who’ll work hard to win your case. Importantly, all holiday accident claims we take on are managed on a No Win No Fee basis.
Holiday Abroad Accident Compensation Calculator
If you are claiming against a package holiday provider, guideline compensation amounts will be set by the Judicial College Guidelines. These are the figures we’ve used in our compensation calculator below.
On top of your injuries, your claim could also cover any financial costs such as:
- Additional travel costs.
- Hospital treatment.
- Medication costs.
- Loss of earnings if your return to work is delayed.
Please call one of our advisors if you’d like to know what your injuries may be worth. We should point out that even if you win your case, there is no guarantee that the compensation amount paid will match the figures listed.
Time Limits For Claiming Accident Abroad Compensation
When you claim for an accident abroad against a tour operator, UK time limits apply rather than those of the country you visited. Therefore, you’ll have 3-years to make your claim. Usually, this will start on the date of the incident you are claiming for. However, if your injuries aren’t diagnosed until a later date, the 3-years will start then.
An exception to this time limit is when a child is injured. As they can’t claim themselves, the 3-year time limit doesn’t apply until they’re 18. Instead, a parent can represent them in a claim as a litigation friend at any point before they turn 18. If a claim hasn’t happened by then, the 3-year time limit starts on their 18th birthday if the victim wishes to pursue their own claim.
Holiday accident abroad claims can take as little as a few months if the tour operator agrees that they were liable for the accident and agree to extent of your injuries. However, if a claim requires more medical evidence or an investigation, claims could take more than a year.
To check whether we can help you make a claim, give us a call today. We offer free legal advice and you’ll be under no obligation to proceed.
Claiming For A Holiday Abroad Accident That You Booked Yourself
In this guide, we have explained how you could claim if you’ve been injured whilst on a package holiday. If you booked each of the elements of your trip yourself, you may still be able to claim. To check if we can help, please call us and an advisor or solicitor can look at what happened and how your holiday was arranged (as it may still be classed as a package tour). Another consideration when claiming directly against a hotel or business abroad is that different time limits may apply.
We provide free legal advice on personal injury claims and offer a no-obligation assessment. You won’t have to pay for that advice if you decide not to make a holiday abroad accident claim.
Starting The Holiday Accident Abroad Claims Process
In our experience, there is a lot of evidence required to win a personal injury claim following an accident abroad. It must be presented clearly and it must prove who was to blame, how your accident occurred, and what injuries you sustained.
If you can’t provide that evidence in a way that proves what happened, the tour operator’s insurers are likely to turn down your compensation claim. Therefore, we’d suggest that the process of making your claim will be easier by using a personal injury solicitor.
If a solicitor from our team takes on your case, we believe you’ll have a better chance of winning your claim and you could even be paid a higher level of compensation.
To find out if we could help you claim on a No Win No Fee basis, call our advisors on 0800 6524 881 today. We’ll look at your evidence and review your case for free. Then we’ll explain what options for starting a holiday accident abroad claim are available to you.