There can be few holiday experiences more upsetting than having your holiday ruined by illness. Many people look forward to a holiday of a lifetime, perhaps a luxury cruise or a trip to an exotic or far flung destination costing a consider able amount of money, only to find that the only thing they see is the hotel bedroom, cabin or worse still foreign hospital ward.
Even in the most minor cases of stomach upset where the individual can recover and eventually resume their holiday, the whole experience is blighted as few people are on top form immediately after a stomach bug. Holidaymakers often chalk up the episode to experience and try to access their insurance policy with varying degrees of success. Those people who experience a more serious event action can be taken against the organisations who expose their customers and passengers to risk, particularly when the consequences impact on the health of the individual long after the initial episode has passed.
The swimming pool and the kitchens are the greatest source of illness for holidaymakers, poor kitchen hygiene, under cooked meat, cross-contamination between cooked and raw meat and food left in soaring temperatures on the buffet table also being exposed to insects and other creatures are the most common food dangers. Insufficient chlorine in the swimming pool can lead to the proliferation of parasites which in turn lead to human infection.
Holidaymakers often struggle to get insurers to pay out and there are significant costs that are never met by the insurance policies, for example the case of David Ramsey who fell ill during a cruise and was hospitalised in Barbados where his care was far below acceptable standards; he came close to death but eventually improved sufficiently to return home. However, due to the negligent nursing and poor care he received he developed large bed sores which may now need to be addressed with plastic surgery and Mr. Ramsey may have to foot the bill.
Even when the afflicted person's costs etc. may be met but it is unlikely that a wife, husband or any other travelling companion's costs will be met unless it is a life or death situation. A partner's holiday is just as ruined as they can hardly have the same holiday on their own.
If your holiday was ruined by avoidable illness through no fault of your own our specialist personal injury lawyers can advise you in obtaining compensation.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
