A successful walking holiday accident claim

Going on holiday is supposed to be a time for sun, sea, sand and whatever takes your fancy. However, on occasion holidaymakers end up sustaining serious personal injuries in holiday accidents.

We receive thousands of calls and emails from people who have been harmed in holiday accidents; and in partnership with our panel of personal injury solicitors, we have an excellent success rate in helping them to claim the compensation that they rightfully deserve.

Case study - Walking accident
While on a guided walking holiday in the Catalan Pyrenees our customer fell from a mountain ridge and sought pursued our help to make a holiday accident claim.

The walk was part of a package deal booked through a travel agent and involved walking through unspoiled mountains in North East Spain, an area famous for its scenic beauty, rare wildlife, rustic stone villages and rich culture.

Stretching the legs, filling the lungs and taking in breath-taking views between three different hotels were on the agenda for holidaymakers who ventured on this trip and our customer was especially looking forward to brushing up on his photography skills.

The first two days were filled with sunshine, colourful wild flowers, the sight of stunningly graceful birds of prey and plenty of wonderful photo opportunities. However, on the third day disaster struck for one man.

A hike along steep mountain sides towards a quaint little terracotta topped village where the group would stop for an authentic tapas lunch was the plan of the day. They had been walking for about two and a half hours when they came to a tree which had fallen in their path. Some of the more agile walkers decided to climb over the great log but the guide was required to find an alternative route for the others.

He decided that they would stray off the designated path and walk a little way down the steep slope of the mountain until clear of the tree and then climb back up towards the path. Some of the walkers were unsure about this plan and were reluctant to follow his lead. He assured them that it was perfectly safe, that they would come to no harm and that he would be there beside them all the way, when in fact he was endangering their lives.

Two of the walkers reached the path safely but when it came to the third man, our customer, he slipped on some loose ground. The guide reached out for him but the man lost his footing and fell backwards. His fall was broken by a large flat rock and he screamed out in agony as his back hit the solid surface.

The guide rushed to his side but it was clear that he would not be able to move him without causing any further risk of injury. He tried to use his mobile phone but he was out of range for a transmission signal. He advised the group that he would have to go down to the village to call for help and two of the walkers offered to go with him. He asked the others to stay and look after the injured man.

When the guide reached the village he called out a mountain rescue team who arrived swiftly. The injured walker was transferred to a spinal injury board then flown to hospital and treated for his back injury. He was diagnosed with severe bruising, soft tissue injuries and three fractured ribs. Doctors informed him that only the position in which he fell prevented his holiday accident from being fatal.

Understandably, the holiday accident meant that the man could not enjoy the remainder of his walking holiday; he was actually unable to walk unaided for a number of months. He was hugely disappointed as had saved for over a year to go on this holiday. He was also angry that his safety had been compromised by the guide and decided that he would like to pursue a holiday accident claim.

He contacted us and enquired whether he would be entitled to make a holiday accident claim. We asked him to tell us all about the circumstances surrounding his accident and advised that he should make the holiday accident claim against the tour operator with which he had booked his walking holiday. We told him that we would accept his case on a no win no fee basis and that further to that he would not be responsible to pay a penny towards the costs and fees that his case may accumulate, regardless of its outcome.

Our customer received an offer for 3,600 in damages from the tour operators which he rejected as he did not feel that this would compensate him fully for the serious personal injury that he sustained. The case then went to court and was settled successfully with an offer of 10,240 which covered nine weeks of lost earnings, medical expenses and compensation for the pain suffered and the holiday that he was unable to enjoy. He was also able to keep every penny as, unlike some other personal injury firms, we do not take a cut of compensation for ourselves out of your compensation award.

Making a claim for a holiday accident through YouClaim
If you have been injured in a holiday accident and would like to claim personal injury compensation, YouClaim are at hand to help.

Not only do we offer free legal advice, fight to get the most compensation available for our customers and offer a totally cost-free service, we also guarantee that you will receive 100% of compensation awarded to you.

As stated earlier, we are associated with some of the UK’s finest no win, no fee solicitors and have an excellent success rate in resolving accident claims.

To find out more or to make a no win no fee claim following a holiday accident, just call 0800 10 757 95 right away.