Successful passenger injury claim - cruise ship accident

During February 2002 we received a claim from a Gloucestershire forestry worker who wanted to pursue a passenger injury compensation claim after he was harmed in a holiday accident while on a cruise around the Mediterranean.

He told us how when the cruise set off the weather was fabulous and how him and his wife were thoroughly looking forward to a relaxing 14 days in the sun, pampering themselves in the spa, eating the finest foods and enjoying the onboard entertainment shows.

A few days into the trip the weather turned; the wind got up and the sea became very choppy, causing the relatively small cruise ship to roll furiously around the Med. This change in the weather had not been expected by the ship's crew and they prepared to slightly alter their schedule and dock as soon as possible, 12 hours behind schedule.

They made for the nearest port of call, which happened to be Palma, and aimed to get the disgruntled, restless and sea-sick passengers on to dry land without further delay. But the passengers were impatient and a sudden outbreak of illness amongst crew members meant that there were less staff on hand than usual to help passengers disembark.

There was a lot of pushing and shoving and when it came to our customer, the limited crew members were concentrating on helping children and the elderly off and he was told to jump the small distance between the ship and the dock. He was being pushed by the eager crowd mounting up behind him and he had little choice but to get off the ship with haste. He tried to jump and as he went forwards he was shoved suddenly from behind, forcing him to lose his balance and fall awkwardly onto his ankle, hitting his face on the metal railing on his descent.

The cruise ship's medic was called to see to the man's passenger injuries. He was told that he had suffered quite a severe ligamentous tear to his ankle and that he should expect to find getting around difficult for a fair few months. He also suffered a black eye and some temporary interference to his vision, which meant that sight-seeing was definitely off the agenda.

When the man returned to the UK he contacted our claim advisors to get some free legal advice about his rights to make a compensation claim. We consulted with our panel of personal injury solicitors and informed the man that he should have a good case against the tour operator through which he booked the cruise and that we would be glad to represent him in a case to claim for his passenger injuries.

He went ahead and made a claim for the pain and inconvenience to his holiday his personal injuries had caused; the earnings that he lost when he returned home, seeing as his ankle injury left him able to walk properly on uneven ground; and the medical treatment that he received abroad which was not covered by his EHIC (European Health Insurance Card).

It was not necessary for the case to go to court as it was clear in the eyes of the law that disembarking from the ship should have been organised far better and, as a result of the crew's negligence to perform this exercise calmly and safely, our customer's passenger injuries were sustained.

He was awarded a sum of £11,750 as a combination of both general and special damages. He was not charged a penny for our services and received every penny of this award as we do not believe in taking a cut from our customers' well-deserved compensation awards.

How you too can make a claim for passenger injury compensation
If you have been harmed while a passenger in a car, bus, train or ferry and would like to make a personal injury compensation claim then YouClaim are here to help.

We work with a panel of highly experienced personal injury solicitors who offer free legal advice, will talk you through the claims process in plain English and will fight to get you the most compensation available.

We work on a strictly no win no fee basis which means that you do not have to pay your personal injury solicitor's fees if your case is unsuccessful. But further to that you will not have to pay any costs or fees, regardless of whether your case is a success or not, when you make a compensation claim through YouClaim.

There are several ways that you can get in touch with our claim advisors. Chat with us right now online and we will answer any queries you may have and provide you with free legal advice to make your claim absolutely hassle-free.

Click here and we will give you a ring at a time that is convenient for you, whether it be before work, in your lunch hour or in the evening.

Fill out an online assessment form so that we know a few details about your case and can start the claims process as soon as possible.

But if you would prefer to give us a call and make a passenger injury claim today contact our 24-hour claims team on 0800 10 757 95.