Host can be responsible for holiday accident or personal injury

You've laid out the canapés, ordered in extra glasses, made the spare bed and tidied up, now while you're waiting for your guests to arrive, stop and think how easy would it be for them to have a party injury or holiday accident while they are supposed to be enjoying themselves in your home?

When you live somewhere or are completely familiar with a building and the surroundings, it's easy to become complacent about any potential hazards which could cause personal injury, including slips, trips and falls. You know about the loose carpet tile and the projecting corner of a shelf but your unsuspecting friend or relative could be on their way to the hospital's accident department if you fail to warn them.

This scenario can easily be made worse by alcohol and the fun atmosphere of the party which help people lose their inhibitions and forget about common sense when it comes to looking after their own health and safety.

Having an alcoholic drink to celebrate and lubricate social interaction is an important factor in any gathering but does a host's responsibility end with providing sufficient quantity and quality to suit everyone?

Although not often tested in law, it could be argued that someone who continued to ply another with alcohol when it risked injuring their health was responsible for any subsequent personal injury either caused in an accident or to their long-term health.

Manslaughter prosecutions have been brought against suppliers of illegal drugs after drug-related deaths and it is only a small step further for a supplier of alcohol to be similarly implicated in a subsequent death.

Then there is drink-driving. Although figures for prosecutions have fallen, thanks to continuous police and publicity campaigns, and asking for an orange juice or similar is not regarded as strange any more, some stupid motorists still think the rules don't apply to them and will get behind the wheel saying, ‘I've only had a couple of glasses'.

What are the legal implications if a host fails to stop his guest from driving away from the party? Does he chance losing a friend by confiscating the keys, risk a punch on the nose or becomes at fault if there is a consequent car crash?

House guests and personal injury solicitors
House guests, too, can be a liability as well as a pleasure to a responsible host. Apart from the distant cousin who is a hygiene freak, there's an aunt with an allergy she didn't tell you about and a toddler step-granddaughter who's on her way to accident and emergency with a burn from the guard you remembered to put round your open fire.

Floods caused by taps left on, fires started in electrical equipment used inappropriately, food poisoning, the sleepwalker who falls through an open window – the list of potential accidents is endless.

There's the other side of the coin, too, what are the consequences of a visitor causing a personal injury to you or someone else under your roof through their negligence or actions?

If any of these party accident and holiday horrors end up in an incident where property is damaged, most householders have home contents insurance to protect them from paying the full cost of replacing or repairing damage to a house and usually within most modern policies there is provision for personal liability.

Obviously, you'll do your best to minimise the risks of harm to anyone visiting for a party or staying as a guest and that's all that could be expected of an ordinary householder but make sure you do or you could be receiving a call from a personal injury solicitor whose client, your visitor, is making a compensation claim for their party or holiday accident.


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