An Accident On Holiday: Who Is Liable?

The holiday season is with us and families prepare to travel abroad, some people, unfortunately, will experience the misfortune of having an accident whilst abroad. This is not something that many people consider before setting off on holiday. However, this is an unfortunate reality for a number of tourists each year. 

Whilst the injured party may have a clear idea as to who is liable for their accident, it can be surprisingly complicated in some instances, what appears to be a straightforward matter can sometimes turn into a complex muddle of blame including negligence and vicarious liability. Giambrone’s personal injury lawyers can assist victims wishing to make a claim by clarifying the direction that any claim should take and assist in 

• enabling a sound claim to be made and ensuring that all parties with liability are included. 
• A claim in made in a timely manner in accordance with the law in the country where the claim will be made.
• Also that liability is valid.

The lawyers in Giambrone's personal injury team have had considerable success in achieving substantial awards for damages on behalf of our clients. Our multi-lingual, multi-jurisdictional lawyers clearly recognise the different requirements that the various jurisdictions require to make a claim. We also understand the cultural differences between the countries across Europe which provides a major advantage when making a personal injury claim

If an accident occurs that is due to a third party’s negligence evidence must be presented to demonstrate liability. However, in the aftermath of an accident, collecting contact details from witnesses and photographing the site of the accident, understandably, may be overlooked, victims must be aware that these simple actions may make a difference when making a claim for damages, in certain circumstances.

An accident that takes place overseas can add a challenging element to an ensuing legal case. Whilst the general concepts of liability are similar across Europe most jurisdictions such an event falls into the bracket of civil law as opposed to criminal law. 

The two broad concepts of law are common law and civil law. A breach of civil law usually involves negligence and there are three core elements:

1. there was a duty of care owed to the injured party
2. the duty was breached
3. An injury or loss was caused to the injured party as a result of the breach

This is often known as the “but for” test, meaning but for the defendant’s conduct the accident would not have happened. Giambrone’s highly experienced personal injury lawyers are experts in analysing the available evidence and recognising with whom the responsibility lays and how the culpability can be apportioned when there are several negligent factors.

Other factors that also must be considered, such as where an accident in a building which has been caused by poor workmanship of sub-standard materials. Should this be the case, the matter would be considered in the light of the local standards of the country in which the accident happened; for example if a guest tripped and their hand went through a glass door that had been glazed using thin glass, should the glass be up to the usual local standard then there would be no breach, regardless of whether to injured person’s home country imposed more stringent standards. Similarly, if the regulations in the country where the accident took place do not require safety elements such as the installation of non-slip tiles around a hotel swimming pool or a safety rail running down a staircase, if an individual injures themselves there would be no liability. 

It is easy common to assume that all countries have similar building standards to those found in your own country but this is not the case.

The other factor is that whether the injured party was in some part a contributor to the accident, if they had been careless or compromised their own safety for example by being drunk and unsteady on their feet or running on an obviously slippery surface. There is a notable case where a lady, Eren Hussein, failed in her efforts to sue Ronnie Scott’s, the well-known basement jazz club in Soho, when alleging that the dark stairway in the club was the cause of her fall down two flights of stairs, Judge Heather Baucher QC commented in her judgment that Ms. Hussein was inebriated, wearing three-inch platform shoes and not holding the handrail during her descent of the stairs and those factors were the actual cause of her accident. Ms. Hussein’s counter-arguments were rejected by the Judge who further commented that Mrs Hussein’s substantial size probably took up much of the width of the stairway and that but for some reason, she did not use the handrail, contending that her accident was caused by her missing her step, something that the staff at Ronnie Scott’s could not be held responsible for.

Similarly, failing to use a piece of safety equipment or attempting a risky sport such as skiing when insufficiently skilled may also fall into the category of “own fault”. Inadequate safety options in connection with balconies and staircase could result in legal action against organisations if considered liable or partially liable for an accident, depending on what actually happened and why.

In the case of road traffic accidents, there may be the option of suing the driver’s insurance company. If an accident occurred during a package holiday there may be the option to sue the tour operator if the hotel’s lack of adequate safety precautions was instrumental in causing the accident.

It is not common for individuals to think about the potential for an accident when booking a holiday but a moment’s reflection on personal safety whilst on holiday is highly advisable.