A successful holiday accident claim following a snowboarding injury

Snowboarding as a snow sport increases in popularity all the time, as so do the daredevil stunts associated with the sport. Subsequently, there has been a rise in the incidence of people experiencing holiday accidents on the slopes.

Case study
Mr Roberts, 45, a healthy father of three, was involved in a snowboarding accident when he was trying a jump while on holiday with his family in December 1998.

He had bought the specialist skiing holiday - a package including flights, accommodation, food and hire of all ski and snowboard equipment, as a Christmas present for his family. This holiday was governed by the Travel Package Holiday Regulations (1992).

Mr Roberts had previously skied but was persuaded to try snowboarding by two of his sons, who had been already been practicing the sport for several years. Mr Roberts decided not to take any lessons and to learn on the slope with his sons.

At the end of an active day, Mr Roberts grew in confidence and decided to try a complicated jump that his son Jake had mastered. During the jump, his hired snowboard (provided as part of the package holiday equipment) split in two, the bindings sheared off and he landed badly on his side, which sent him careering off to the left of the piste and then into a tree.

Mr Roberts fractured his ribs, injured his left shoulder and was left with one long single penetrating wound across his chest from the holiday accident. To begin with, he couldn't get any relief for the pain in his shoulder from painkillers, and repetitively woke up through the night. He was hospitalised and his shoulder was put in a cast for months after the event, after which time he needed regular palliative care to restore the movement in his shoulder.

He decided to demand compensation from the package holiday company and put in a no win, no fee claim. Our personal injury solicitors found the holiday company responsible for the acts, because of failures and omissions of their agents or representatives abroad, in this case the "hirer of the faulty equipment". They were able to establish that an "express term" contained within the terms and conditions of the holiday brochure made it possible for the tour operator to accept liability for the personal injury claim.

As the holiday company was found responsible for supplying faulty equipment, Mr Roberts recovered 6,400 for his injuries and a 50 % refund on the cost of his ruined holiday.

How to claim holiday accident compensation
If you have suffered a holiday accident while enjoying snow sports or snowboarding and want to seek compensation for your injuries, call us on 0800 10 757 95 and we will talk you through the claims process and establish whether you are might be entitled to compensation.

Our panel of personal injury solicitors have specialist experience and an excellent success rate in holiday accident claims and will give you excellent representation in the event of a claim. They are members of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel, a regulatory body which carries out annual assessments to ensure the very highest standards of service are met.