Holiday injury compensation news
12/02/2008
Tour operator denies liability

A mother-of-three who suffered multiple injuries while she was holidaying in an Egyptian water park has been told by her tour operator that she can forget about receiving any more holiday injury compensation.

This comes despite the fact that the woman had to spend hundred of pounds on medical costs while she was still in Egypt and has, since returning to England, been forced to medically retire. In constant pain, she is now taking prescription painkillers and antidepressants. Injuries the woman suffered in the accident included a broken collarbone, severe back injuries and several broken ribs.

In denying liability, the tour operator, who also sold the woman her travel insurance, cite article 15 of the package holiday regulations. This states that a tour operator can only be considered liable for injuries incurred in accidents that are part of the package tour contract. The holiday injury compensation claimant believes that this is unfair, not only because she booked the water park activity through the tour operator, but also because she believes she was misled when they sold her the policy in the first place.

Refusing to back down, she told press, "At the welcome party in the resort, the reps even told us that, as Egypt was a Third World country, the only way to ensure excursions were covered by our insurance policies was to book with them, not outside agencies."

Both personal injury lawyers and insurance experts agree that holidaymakers should always make an informed choice when purchasing their holiday accident insurance. Jonathan French, from the Association of British Insurers, comments, "Policies sold through tour operators are often quite different from competing insurance products. As well as being more expensive, they are often less comprehensive in their benefits than policies bought elsewhere."