Successful holiday accident claim

In August 2005 we received a phone call from a young man who wished to make a holiday accident claim after sustaining personal injuries while on a sailing excursion organised by his tour operator.

He told us how he excitedly booked a cheap break in the sun with three friends after they received their A-level results. They were determined to have a relaxing fun-filled summer before going off to university so they booked various trips and water sports activities through their tour operator.

On the morning of the sailing trip, which was to take them on a small tour around a beautiful part of the Spanish coast, things didn't get off to an awfully good start. When the boys turned up at the quayside to get kitted out for their trip the man that they were told to ask for didn't seem to know anything about the trip that they had booked and paid for. They hung around while he phoned his manager and waited a total of 35 minutes until he eventually said that they could board the boat.

Knowing that he wasn't a confident swimmer, our customer asked the Spaniard for a life jacket. He looked at him and said "Can't you swim fat boy?" The young man was insulted and horrified but they were already out on the water by this time and there was little he could do.

Around 20 minutes into their trip their sailing instructor told them that they could operate the boat by themselves while he went and made a few phone calls. The boys said that they weren't sure whether they felt ready but the instructor told them not to worry as he would keep an eye on them from the other end of the yacht.

Disaster struck when a speed boat whizzed past them and rocked the boat off balance. The boys strived to control the boat but the water was too choppy and they were finding it increasingly difficult to keep it steady. The instructor came rushing to their aid but it was too late as our customer was thrown overboard. On his was over he hit his head on the edge of the boat and fell unconscious into the water.

The instructor told the other boys to take control of the boat while he dived in to rescue the nineteen-year-old. He splashed in and out of the water several times before he found the boy who had been starved of oxygen. As the waves calmed the boys had managed to steady the boat and the instructor dragged the boy out of the water and onboard. He performed CPR on the unconscious teenager and got one of the boys to phone the main land for assistance.

The boy was taken to a hospital on land where he received emergency treatment. Doctors said he was lucky that he had escaped the holiday accident with a fractured wrist, moderate neck injury and minor head injury as he could have sustained serious brain damage or even lost his life.

His family were gravely concerned about the ordeal that he had been through and his dad started looking into the possibility of his son making a holiday accident claim when he felt better. The father was advised that the tour operator his son had booked the sailing trip through was liable for the holiday accident and, after he relayed this to his son, he decided that he would go ahead and pursue a personal injury claim.

On contacting us, the young man told us about his holiday accident and the personal injuries he had sustained and after talking to our associated personal injury solicitors we informed him that we could take on his case on a no win, no fee basis.

We explained that we have a completely cost-free compensation claim policy and that he would not be liable for a penny towards costs or fees at any stage during the claims process, regardless of whether his holiday accident claim was a success or not. This encouraged the teenager to pursue his claim against the tour operator that had organised the fateful trip and, like the vast majority of our customers, he was successful.

The tour operator took full responsibility for the negligence of the company they had employed to operate the trip and the nineteen-year-old was awarded £17,600 to cover the pain and distress his personal injuries had caused, the cost of his specially arranged flight home, the ongoing cost of a physiotherapist and lost earnings over the summer period. Despite his injuries, the young man proceeded to go to university the following year.

You too can make a holiday accident claim through us
Have you also been involved in a holiday accident for which you would like to pursue personal injury compensation? YouClaim are here to help.

We have helped thousands of people to get the compensation that they deserve and we can help you too. We are associated with a panel of expert personal injury solicitors who are not only accredited by the Law Society but who have also worked on many successful cases of this type.

Working under the no win, no fee agreement, the solicitor that we assign to you will talk you through each stage of the claims process in plain English and be at hand to offer free legal advice.

This means that making a holiday accident claim through us will not only be completely cost-free but also totally hassle-free.

All you have to do to make a no win, no fee compensation claim through us today is contact us by telephone or drop us a line by email. If you would like us to get back to you back later click here to request a call back time that suits you. To talk to a member of our team use our e-chat facility. Alternatively, make a holiday accident claim with us today by filing out an online claim form or give us a call on 0800 10 757 95.