Wake-surfing holiday injury sees sister sue sister for wrong kind of rope

Holiday injury is tragic; you go away with your friends, loved ones, family, etc., and suffer an accident that has the potential to change your life. In many cases, the only way to get life back on track is to start a compensation claim.

But, what if the person you have to claim against is a member of your family; that could be tricky.

In 2008, a US case came to light involving a woman who had been wake-surfing with her sister and brother-in-law behind their boat. The woman's hand got tangled in a rope and she lost her thumb.

The boat-owners had taken out appropriate insurance to cover such an accident, but when they claimed on the policy in attempt to cover the victim's medical bills, it came to light that the rope being used in the activity was wrong and the insurance company refused to pay out.

According to experts, there are two types of rope for this sort of activity and advice on the subject is very specific. Wake-boarding rope is thin and can cause serious injury; wake-surfing rope is thicker and the handles are different.

The insurance company say the couple had breached the terms of the insurance by not supplying the correct equipment for the activity. So, under US law, the personal injury victim now has to sue her sister for negligence, before the insurance company can be forced to pay out.

The victim's attorney is confident he can prove the holiday accident occurred as a result of the boat owner's negligence and not due to the inherent risk of wake-surfing. He suggests that the insurance company hope the family relations may prevent the case going to court.

However, the boat owners are now freely admitting they were negligent and that the holiday injury could have been avoided if they had used the correct equipment. The insurance company will therefore be made to pay up, unless their lawyers are able to prove that the injury was caused solely as a result of the inherent risk associated with the activity.

The attorney said of the accident, "They violated the cardinal sin of wake-surfing; they used the wrong kind of rope."

He suggests that if the insurance company had paid against the policy the maximum compensation would have been $100,000, but if the case goes to court and a jury decides in favour of his client, damages awarded could be much more significant.

YouClaim and holiday injury claims
If you have sustained injury in a holiday accident that was not your fault, we can advise you very quickly if we believe you would be eligible to make a compensation claim. We will then provide you with an experienced and specialised personal injury solicitor who will guide you personally throughout your claim for compensation.

Working on a no win, no fee basis our professionals work to strict and exacting standards laid down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our success rate is high and you are guaranteed to receive 100% compensation in the event of a successful claim.

Call our free UK helpline on 0800 10 757 95 or have an e-chat. If it's not convenient right now we can call you back, or you could give us a few details about your holiday injury claim by filling in our online claim form and we will call you to discuss it further. However you contact YouClaim you can be assured we will give you the best service available.