Our client was aged 14 when he was on holiday with his parents, grandmother and 3 siblings at the Holiday Village Benalmedena in Spain. While checking into the hotel on the first day of the holiday, he slipped on a wet floor surface beside a reception area fountain.
The teenager fell forward and hit his face, and was left bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth. The accident happened so quickly that he did not have a chance to put his hands out in front of him to protect himself.
Our client’s mother asked a First Choice holiday rep for some ice, but they explained that they weren’t allowed to administer ice to any injuries. While the First Choice rep acknowledged that it was the tour operator’s responsibility to ensure children didn’t climb on the fountain, he said that enforcing the rule often caused problems with parents and that it was hard to keep children away.
We're rated‘Excellent’The First Choice rep suggested that the family attend a private Spanish hospital, where a local doctor concluded that the boy’s nose had not been fractured. However, by the time the family returned home to the UK, the teenager’s nose was still badly swollen. He was referred to an ENT clinic, where a specialist doctor immediately confirmed that his nose was broken and that immediate surgery was required.
The teenager underwent a straightening procedure, but his nose was still not completely straight. As a result, the family were advised that he might need further surgery to rectify the shape of his nose.
After the initial medical report, further medical evidence was recommended to ascertain whether he would require rhinoplasty surgery to fix any deformity.
How We Helped
Once the teenager turned 18, he contacted our specialist Holiday Claims Solicitors to make a claim for compensation. His case was taken on by Senior Associate Solicitor James Blower, who argued that the floor was wet because children had been free to play on the sides of the fountain and splash water.
James also concluded that First Choice had been negligent because there were no warning or wet floor signs around the fountain area alerting people to the possible hazard.
Our calculation of how much compensation he would be entitled to also reflected the impact the injury had on his life after returning home from holiday.
Since the accident on holiday and his surgery, the young man couldn’t ride his mountain bike or take part in any contact sports until at least 6 weeks afterwards. He was therefore unable to enjoy hobbies such as riding his bicycle every day, and greatly missed not being able to pursue this passion.
The Outcome
Our client agreed to a settlement of £6,500 compensation which did not need approval from the Court. After the settlement was agreed, the boy’s mother criticised First Choice for failing to take any measures to rope off the fountain or put up warning signs alerting people to the wet floor or the dangers of climbing on the water feature.
She said the First Choice office at the Holiday Village Benalmedena was directly in front of the fountain, which meant staff “failed repeatedly” to stop children playing and climbing on it.
She went on to praise Solicitor James Blower for his help, saying he was “very informative” and answered all queries and concerns “effectively”. She added that she would “highly recommend” our services to other people in a similar situation.
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