BBC News reports that a family has been awarded compensation after becoming seriously ill whilst on holiday. It is said that the Palin family, who hail from the West Midlands, were hit by outbreaks of salmonella and cryptosporidium – in other words sickness and diarrhoea – at their hotel in Majorca in 2003. As a result, the Palin’s dream holiday was ruined. They could not leave their hotel room and this meant they could not do those usual holiday activities like going to the beach or going on one of the many excursions on offer. As Mrs Palin said herself, ‘We have no happy memories of what was supposed to be, at the time, a dream holiday.’
It would seem that the Palin’s were not the only ones to have their holiday ruined either. BBC News states that there were another 10 victims from the West Midlands, and that in the end 49 people that caught the bug whilst at their hotel in Majorca were also able to obtain compensation. At the Birmingham County Court it was held that Thomson, the tour operator for the holiday, was liable for their customers becoming sick. It was said that Thomson had breached the duty of care they owed their customers by failing to warn them of the bout of sickness that was going through the hotel. It would also appear that this is the first time that a tour operator has been found liable for the illnesses of its customers.
If you have been ill whilst on holiday abroad you may be entitled to compensation. Just because you were not back home in the United Kingdom when you sustained an illness does not mean that you are unable to claim compensation. A claim can be made against your tour operator back home. It is necessary to establish whether the tour operator breached their duty of care. Currently tour operators must do all they can to ensure the health and safety of their customers. If there is an outbreak of illness at your hotel, your tour operator must ensure that you are aware of this and give you advice about the outbreak. That said, simply because you have fallen ill whilst on holiday, does not necessarily guarantee that you are entitled to compensation. If it is considered that the tour operator did everything it could to ensure the health and safety of its customers, then you may not be able to make a claim for compensation. After all, illnesses are a fact of life, and sometimes, despite all we do to contain them, we are still affected by them. It is important that if you have suffered an illness whilst on holiday, you get free legal advice from a professional injury lawyer. They will be able to assess whether you have a claim for compensation and set you on your way to getting the compensation you may deserve.
