Holiday accident news
26/10/2007

Paris hotel shower electrocutes Sussex man

The family of a man killed in an horrific holiday accident could be in a position to claim personal injury compensation.

The Sussex man died after being electrocuted in the shower of a Paris hotel in June 2006 whilst on a weekend trip to the French capital.

The man and his partner had travelled across the Channel to watch former Take That star Robbie Williams perform in concert and the trip had been the couple's Christmas present to each other.

On the morning after the concert the 40-year-old took a shower but faulty circuits meant that the shower rail became live and electrocuted him.

His girlfriend told an inquest of the tragic holiday accident, saying: "He had been in there [the shower] several minutes - long enough to have a shower - and all of a sudden I heard him scream 'argh'."

She then told how she immediately ran into the bathroom, explaining: "He was shaking and his teeth were gritted. He said, 'Don't touch me, don't touch me, electric'."

She ran off to telephone paramedics but her partner died before they could arrive.

A Brighton coroner conducting an inquest into the man's death said: "The [shower rail] pole became live because it moved and had come into contact with, or into very close proximity with, the end shield of a wall-mounted lighting fixture.

"The light fixture was already live because it had been connected to its supply circuit in contravention of the regulations governing such electrical work."

It is not yet known if the woman is planning to consult no win no fee solicitors in order to help her make a holiday accident compensation claim.