If you fell ill and were sick on holiday and you want to claim compensation from your holiday tour operator, there is lots of evidence you can collect to support your claim.
For example, if you believe you suffered the sickness because the food you were provided with at your all-inclusive holiday hotel wasn’t satisfactory, or because of poor hygiene practices at the hotel, taking photos and video footage on your phone can show poor food standards and inadequate hygiene practices. This, in turn, can help you prove where and when you contracted your illness and that the illness came from the all-inclusive hotel.
You should always report your illness to the holiday representative and make sure that you have evidence that the representative has actually made a written records of your complaint. You should also seek medical attention in the resort where necessary and ensure that you keep copies of any prescription, medication purchases and medical advice provided.
You may request that a doctor at the hotel or resort takes a stool sample in order to establish precisely what has caused your illness. However, you may find that there are no testing facilities at your holiday location or that the testing facilities overseas aren’t capable of detecting the bugs that are known to cause holiday sickness. In this situation, you should request a tool sample test from your local GP as soon as you get home.
Some parasites, such as Cyclospora Cayetanensis, can only be detected through testing samples of contaminated food and water, or through analysis of a stool sample. It’s therefore very important that you consider having one taken. Not only does it help your holiday sickness claim, but it also gives you the peace of mind that you’ll get a clear diagnosis.
Our Holiday Claims Solicitors have many years’ experience and an excellent track record of securing compensation for our clients. We offer a free consultation and we may be able to deal with your claim on a No Win, No Fee basis – ask us for details.
We're rated‘Excellent’If the illness or sickness you’re suffering from is food-related (possible food poisoning), then there’s a good chance that at least one other person staying at the same hotel or resort is also feeling unwell. If that’s the case, share contact details with these people and compare symptoms, as you may be able to make a group claim against your tour operator when you get back to the UK.
Of course, the tour operator might offer you compensation in an effort to avoid legal action. However, this is likely to be a fairly modest settlement, perhaps just a few hundred pounds or compensation vouchers. While this may be suitable to many holidaymakers, it’s unlikely to be sufficient for those who spent thousands of pounds on a trip that was ruined by a sickness bug or those that have suffered serious or long lasting symptoms of illness.
In this case, before responding to the tour operator’s offer, we recommend taking free legal advice from our expert Holiday Claims Solicitors. Many of our Travel Law experts have worked for the big UK tour operators, giving us an advantage in securing holiday compensation.
There are a few points to consider about taking medication for an illness abroad. The first, of course, is your safety. It can be difficult to understand what you’re buying over the counter in a foreign country and doses may also vary. Furthermore, you might end up taking something that isn’t licensed in the UK, which could have adverse side-effects.
It's therefore important to consider whether the medication is necessary and if you are unsure about any medication that you have purchased abroad, you may wish to contact your GP in the UK for advice before taking it. Unfortunately some foreign doctors and pharmacies will prescribe anti-biotics without actually establishing the cause of infection. Taking these may do more harm than good and could prevent your GP in the UK from being able to determine what has caused the illness, impacting your ability to make a claim and receive effective treatment.
Finally, if you see a doctor while on holiday and intend to claim compensation, be wary of any paperwork you’re asked to sign. If the resort you’re staying at has a doctor and you decide to use them, they may ask you to sign forms that prevent you from claiming compensation in the future.
British holidaymakers who contract Cyclospora at an all-inclusive hotel in Mexico will not know they’ve got the condition unless they’re tested for it. If you start showing symptoms of a gastric illness during your holiday, report it to a member of the hotel staff straight away.
If you’ve suffered from an unexpected illness on holiday, then you could have grounds to make a holiday illness claim. Was your trip booked as part of an all-inclusive package holiday deal, and the illness you suffered was caused by the resort or its conditions? If so, then under the Package Travel Regulations 1992, you may be entitled to compensation.
If you or your family suffered from food poisoning at a hotel while you were on holiday abroad, get in touch with our Holiday Claims Solicitors for free legal advice about claiming compensation.
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