Hudgell Solicitors have secured damages of £6,000 for a seven-year-old boy who fractured his collarbone in a fall on holiday abroad.
The incident happened in a hotel in Majorca when he fell from bunkbeds and onto a tiled floor.
He fell down a gap between the bed and the wall which had gone unnoticed by his family.
It was only after the fall that his grandparents realised the gap was there as, from a distance, the bed had appeared to be flush to the wall. It was then they also noticed there was no rail on that side of the bed.
As a result of his injuries the boy was unable to play, swim and have fun with his cousins and did not fully enjoy the rest of his time in Majorca.
The Legal Case
The boy’s family instructed our specialist Travel Litigation team, headed up by the Legal 500 ranked solicitor, Paul McClorry, to act on their behalf.
A claim was made against holiday operator Jet 2, who denied liability for the accident throughout the holiday injury claim.
Following the incident, the Majorca hotel added a safety rail to the bed and it was implied the safety rail had always been there, which was not the case.
Our clients were able to prove this as they took photographs showing the lack of rail and the gap between the bed and the wall following the incident.
Jet 2 continued to deny any liability and our team obtained a report from a Spanish lawyer, which confirmed that the lack of a safety rail was in contravention of local standards.
At court a Judge ruled in our client’s favour and approved a settlement of £6,000, including a payment of £550 to enable the family to buy a computer to assist with home-schooling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hudgell Solicitors comment
Holiday accident claims solicitor Tracy Stansfield, a travel litigation specialist, led the case and said: “It is always difficult when somebody suffers an injury on holiday, and especially for young children.
“When we book family holidays we expect the facilities to be safe and certainly to meet the standards required of them. It is the duty of a holiday operator to ensure this is the case at the hotels they use.
“Alongside the obvious pain caused by the injury, this young boy’s holiday was ruined and he was unable to swim or join in fun activities with his family.
“I was pleased that we were able to achieve a successful outcome for our client and hope the damages award has gone some way to making up for the impact on his holiday.
“It was also really nice to be offered a computer as part of the settlement as this will go a long way to helping with his home-schooling as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
