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Holiday Accidents and Illness Compensation Claims

Was your holiday abroad ruined due to an injury or illness that was not your fault? Did you slip on the tiles around the pool area, get injured on an excursion or have an accident on the plane or coach to your destination? If so you could be entitled to compensation.

Can I make an accident on holiday claim?

Our specialist holiday injury and illness compensation claim solicitors are experienced in winning compensation and can often do so on a no win, no fee basis. What’s more, you won’t pay a penny for an initial consultation.

Our holiday claims solicitors are ranked top by the Chambers and Partners UK and The Legal 500 independent legal guides in this area of law. We are highly experienced and provide a wide range of specialist services and advice.

We can offer:

  • Free advice, without obligation, whilst we investigate your holiday accident compensation claim
  • No win, no fee agreements (where appropriate and if you decide to instruct us)
  • Access to financial advice, including benefits advice
  • Access to specialist health care and rehabilitation

How long do I have to make a holiday injury claim?

The time limits for making a holiday accident claim do differ from country to country, so you should look into making a compensation claim as soon as you get back from holiday.

The rules can be extremely complex, and it will be difficult to know which time limits apply to you until further investigations are made. In some cases these limits can be extended depending on the circumstances, so you shouldn’t be deterred from contacting a solicitor.

Your free personal injury consultation with Hugh James will allow us to further investigate whether your case is within the applicable time limits or subject to any exceptions.

Hugh James holiday injury and illness experience

We have dealt with many holiday cases over the years, including:

  • Claims for holidaymakers
  • Victims of transport accidents (for example the group action arising from the Gerona Air Crash, in which we were the lead solicitors coordinating claims brought by 170 passengers)
  • Employees of companies injured while working abroad
  • Recently settled claims on behalf of the family of an EU boiler worker who died in an accident at sea in Germany and three of his colleagues who were seriously injured when a boiler exploded on a ship

Our previous cases

We have secured thousands of pounds in compensation for victims of the following:

  • MH117 Malaysian Air
  • Gerona Air Crash
  • “Sun Vista” Cruise Liner
  • Zeebrugge
  • P&O Lifeboat Accident
  • Salmonella Outbreak
  • Legionnaires Disease
  • Catastrophic Injury – Paraplegia & Tetraplegia

Key contact

Katherine acts for Claimants in cases across the whole range of travel personal injury litigation including package holiday claims, foreign RTAs, aviation accidents, accidents on cruise ships, foreign employers and occupier’s liability claims.  She has over 18 years’ experience in this field and has particular expertise in serious brain and spinal injury cases and cases involving points relating to jurisdiction and applicable law.


Your questions answered

If you have booked your holiday through a UK travel agent or tour operator it might be much easier to claim. You must ensure that if you have had an accident or illness while on holiday you report it to a member of staff and make sure you record evidence of the potential claim. Once you have returned from holiday contact our specialist team immediately and they will be able to advise you on the next course of action.

The success, value and length of time of your claim will greatly depend on the amount of evidence you collect at the scene of the accident. Whether the accident is a slip at the pool or a road traffic accident it is important to:

  • Look after yourself and seek medical attention. Obtain copies of any foreign medical records before you leave to come home.
  • It is important to take photographs and/or video footage at the scene of the accident. Document any damage to yourself or a family member as well as any damage of your belongings – take photographs.
  • Alert staff or officials: and make sure that they make a record of the incident
  • Take down details of any witnesses, even if they are Britons or locals, and ensure you have working contact details.
  • Try to create a record of what happened before during and after the accident. This will give your solicitor a trail of information to enable investigations to be conducted.
  • Try and keep a record of any expenses you have had as a result of your accident – for example, medical bills, and travel or accommodation expenses.
  • Speak to a legal professional as soon as possible.

This really depends on the type and location of the accident. If you were injured in the hotel, who you claim against will depend on whether you booked with a tour operator, travel agent or booked directly with the hotel. If you have had a road accident, then you will claim against the other driver’s insurance company.

This really depends on your circumstances and the severity of your injury or illness. Rest assured that our specialist team is experienced in ensuring that you and your family receive the maximum compensation you are entitled to.

Compensation will include an award for the pain and suffering caused by your illness. In addition, compensation can also be claimed in respect of care needs, financial losses, medical care and treatment.

There are a number of factors that affect a personal injury claim. These make it difficult to give an exact timescale and are affected by:

  • The availability to collect evidence
  • Whether the entity responsible admits liability
  • The nature of your injury and illness

It’s important to consider all these factors and our specialist solicitors need to evaluate the true impact of your injury or illness when calculating your compensation.

The death of a loved one is an extremely difficult and challenging time. Making a personal injury claim will be the last thing on your mind, but if you have suffered financial loss and ongoing financial problems as a result of the death, then a solicitor may be able to help.

You should consider:

  • The financial impact
  • The psychological implications to you and your family as a result of the death
  • And whether seeking professional support or counselling will be of any benefit

If you would like further information about making a fatal accident personal injury claim following an accident or illness abroad, contact our team of expert solicitors for a free, no obligation, consultation.


Small but extremely punchy travel and cross-border PI team. Excellent service, really strong on foreign accident claims.

The Legal 500

Katherine Allen – hugely experienced, a natural feel for the cases, clients always feel that they are in really great hands – and they are! Rebecca Gilmore – also very knowledgeable about the intricacies of cross-border work. Enthusiastic and tenacious in her clients’ interests.

The Legal 500

Katherine Allen is superb – excellent judgement, excellent way with clients. Her team includes Rebecca Gilmore, who is sound. Mark Harvey is of course outstanding.

The Legal 500

Katherine Allen is a prominent lawyer in this area. Very well-known across sector. Very active at conferences. Pragmatic and likeable lawyer. Handles a broad range of cases with great efficiency.

The Legal 500

Mark Harvey is well known as a leading practitioner from a product liability point of view who is well-versed in cross-border claims. Katherine Allen has extensive experience in handling cross-border claims.

The Legal 500

The lawyers stand out due to their understanding of the procedural and strategic dimensions of claims.

Chambers & Partners

Very efficient and take care to update their clients on the progress of cases.

Chambers & Partners


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