As you may have been ill or injured whilst travelling, you could be entitled to claim compensation.  At Harris Fowler we specialise in getting you the compensation you deserve. This page will set out the basis of a claim necessary to win your compensation and hints and tips to help this process go smoothly.

In order to make a claim for compensation following an illness or injury whilst traveling will depend on how you have been injured

• For illnesses or injuries overseas you look at the Package Travel Regulations 1992 and the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangement Regulations 2018
• For injuries on cruise ships, ferries and pleasure boats boats we have to look at EC regulation No 392/2009
• For injuries on airplanes we have to look at The Montreal Convention 1999

Package Holidays

The Package Travel Regulations are important as they allow an individual to bring a claim for breach of contract against a package tour operator even where the operator themselves are not performing the contract. For example, you book a package holiday including flights and accommodation, you eat solely in the hotel but because of their poor food hygiene you become ill. In this circumstance you would normally have to bring a claim against the hotel itself, however because of the regulations you can instead bring a claim against the tour operator the package was booked with but to do so you have to meet 5 conditions.

1. The package must have been sold in the UK
2. Must include at least two components of either transport, accommodation or other tourist service (such as visiting an event)
3. The components must be pre-arranged (i.e. later additions do not count towards the above)
4. The combination must be sold at an inclusive price
5. The services must cover a period of more than 24 hours or include overnight accommodation

If all of these conditions are met then a claim can be brought against the package tour operator in relation to any breaches of the contract. Quite often these breaches are of implied terms (i.e. ones not written in the contract but necessary to have the contract make sense) for example where a package tour is all-inclusive there will be an implied term that the food is safe to eat and if it is not and it can be proved that the food was the cause then you will be able to bring a claim for the breach of that implied term.

The difficulty with claims such as these is often in proving what the cause of the illness is and your specialist personal injury lawyer will advise you further in relation to the evidence needed and the likelihood of success given the facts of your case.

Accidents on Cruise Ships and Pleasure Boats

For an injury or illness on a ship, boat or other water going vessel the carriers (ship operator) liability will depend upon whether the injury or illness results from either a result of a shipping incident or another incident.

Shipping incidents are defined as a shipwreck, capsizing, collision or stranding of the ship, explosion or fire in the ship, or defect in the ship. If the injury is caused by one of these events then the carrier is liable for the injuries up to a limit of approximately £230,000. There are exceptions to the carrier’s liability for example if the event can be shown to have occurred due to the deliberate act of a third party or an exceptional circumstance such as an act of war.

If the injury is not as a result of a shipping accident then you will need to show that the injury was either the carriers fault or due to their neglect.  In cases such as the carriers employees leaving a wet floor for guests to slip on with no warning signs showing fault may be straightforward but in other cases, such as when Norovirus outbreaks occur repeatedly because the ship is not effectively cleaned it will be more difficult.

As these cases are fact dependent in terms of whether the injury is due to fault or neglect of the carrier it is important you speak to our team of specialists who will advise you further. It is also worth noting that for claims of this type you have only two years to bring a claim, not 3 as with accidents in the UK.

Accidents on an Aircraft

For accidents on an airplane the nature of the claim will be defined by the ultimate destination of the flight.

If the flight involves international travel then the claim will be brought under The Montreal Convention, whereas if the flight is domestic, then a claim can be brought in negligence or for a breach of contract.

In order to bring a claim under the Montreal Convention you need to show three things

• That the flight was an international flight
• That an accident occurred
• That the accident was external to the Claimant, and that it caused bodily injuries

The first element is relatively straightforward although please note that not all countries are signatories to the Montreal convention most notably Tunisia, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

The second element as to whether an accident has occurred is more problematic. For example the courts have previously decided that that someone slipping on the narrow plastic strip which covered the seat tracking was not an accident but that the indecent assault of a 15 year old girl whilst asleep by a passenger in the next seat was an accident. The question revolves around whether the accident is as a result of the normal design and functioning of the aircraft and whether it has led to injury.

Due to the technical nature in regards to whether the event constitutes an accident it is important to speak to our specialist personal injury lawyers who will advise you further.

The final part of a claim under the Montreal Convention is to show that the accident caused bodily injury. The compensation awardable is purely in respect of physical and not psychiatric harm. So if you were involved in a plane crash you would be able to claim compensation for your physical injuries but not for the likely resulting situational anxiety or Post-traumatic stress disorder.