Illness on a package holiday – can I make a claim for compensation?

If you experienced illness whilst on a package holiday this summer, you may be wondering whether you can make a Personal Injury claim for compensation.

Our Head of Personal Injury, Gemma Hicks, discusses the law and practicalities around this in her latest blog.

Many of us are now starting to return to foreign travel with the reducing of lockdown restrictions.

It has been some time since we have been able to travel so freely abroad and, with this new found freedom comes concern that package holiday resorts may be looking to increase profit margins to make up for the fact that they have been unable to welcome guests for more than 18 months.

With the potential for foreign hotels cutting corners, there is also the potential for people to fall ill whilst on holiday, whether this be through poorly maintained filtration systems causing Legionnaire’s disease or, poor hygiene standards in catering facilities causing stomach upsets.

Current legislation allows that where you suffer injury or illness on holiday as a result of the negligence of someone who is an integral part of the package holiday, that you can claim compensation in England and Wales.

There have been many cases over the last few years where people have fallen ill with stomach bugs and have claimed compensation for their illness and the effect upon their package holiday from the package holiday company.

Unfortunately, there have also been people who have attempted to make fraudulent claims for illness, most often thwarted in their attempts to make a fraudulent claim by their social media entries, showing them having a wonderful time on holiday whilst they allege that they were incapacitated due to illness.

If you have been on holiday abroad and a part of a package holiday and you have suffered illness, then you may be able to make a claim.

In order for your holiday to be a package, you need to have booked more than 1 part of the trip at the same time or within 24 hours. That is a flight and transfer, or a flight and hotel for example.

Providing the illness was caused by the negligence of someone directly involved in that package, for example the illness comes from swimming in the hotel pool or, dining in the package holiday hotel restaurant, then you may be able to make a claim under the package holiday regulations.