Holiday Illness Compensation Claims
Most holidaymakers will be aware that they can claim if they develop food poisoning or another sickness whilst on holiday. Newspapers, radio stations and satellite TV channels are full of adverts imploring you make a holiday illness claim if you have developed a sickness bug whilst on holiday.
The reason for this is that solicitors’ firms can sometimes get paid quite handsomely for this particular type of claim. At The Claims Partnership, we are not interested in jumping on board the Holiday Claims gravy train. However, we are interested in providing a first class and professional service to any of our clients who have suffered from a stomach bug or other illness whilst on holiday.
Why are holiday sickness claims so common these days?
Like most things in life, the increase in holiday sickness claims comes down to money. Most holiday sickness claims develop in All Inclusive hotels at resorts in places like The Gambia, Sharm el Sheikh and the Dominican Republic. Package Tour and All Inclusive holiday companies pay as little as £14 per day, per person, to the resort hotels to accommodate their clients.
For this small amount of money, the hotel is required to not only pay for all the food, drink and alcohol consumed by their guests, but to clean their hotel rooms and maintain that hotel buildings and swimming pools.
As a consequence many hotels have to cut corners. This means that food is often left sitting on a buffet for several hours. The same food is frequently served again later in the day or even the following day.
Hotel kitchen and waiting staff are not properly trained in hygiene procedures. When an item of food becomes infected with a bug, a buffet provides the optimum temperature conditions to allow bacteria to multiply millions of times, meaning that the food becomes dangerous to eat.
In very dry countries, some hotels cannot afford to pay for water to water their grounds, and frequently recycle waste water to water their gardens. Sprinkler systems mean that the same waste water can infect swimming pools, cutlery and the grounds.
Can I claim if a member of my family or I developed food poisoning?
Yes. It is far easier to place a holiday illness compensation claim if you are on an All Inclusive holiday where you have eaten most or all of your food within the hotel.
You can also claim if you have suffered food poisoning on a cruise ship. At The Claims Partnership, we direct our claims against the Package Tour company, rather than the hotel. Please contact us by email or telephone for free and impartial advice.
How can we help?
At The Claims Partnership, we are dedicated to working in your best interests and to providing a great value and high quality claims service. We treat our clients with integrity and fight their corner. We feel confident enough in our skills and experience to say that if it is legally possible to win your claim – then we will win it for you.
Our Partnership Promise on Costs
At The Claims Partnership, we have three simple rules which apply to our Personal Injury Claims services. They also apply to all the other services we offer.
- We never charge our client anything until the day they receive their compensation payment.
- We guarantee that all our clients will receive a minimum percentage of the compensation they are awarded.
- We will agree that minimum percentage with our client’s before we start work on their claim.
For our Personal Injury Claims service, we guarantee that all our clients will receive a minimum of 70% of the compensation we negotiate for them.
We can also help you with any medical or Rehabilitation needs that you have. Please see our Rehabilitation page.
What to do if you develop a stomach bug or other illness whilst on holiday or when you get home
- The first priority is to make sure that you seek urgent medical attention. Don’t forget you can request your GP to come and visit you at home if you have returned. If you are still abroad, see the hotel doctor or a local clinic.
- Make a list of all the food and drink you have consumed within the last 72 hours. Cross reference this food with meals eaten by other members of your family or party.
- Make enquiries of other guests at the hotel to check whether anybody else has developed food poisoning. If they have, trying to check what meals they ate.
- If you are still on holiday, monitor and take photographs of how long food is kept on the buffet and whether it is recycled on subsequent buffets or the following day.
- Investigate the hygiene standards in the kitchen if possible and take photographs.
- Try to monitor the hotel sprinkler systems. These are usually activated at night time. Is there a smell of sewage when the hotel sprinkler systems operate?
How much compensation will I received for my holiday sickness claim?
The amount of holiday sickness compensation depends upon how severe your food poisoning is. Minor food poisoning claims which involve cramps and diarrhoea for between several days to 2 or 3 weeks would entitle you to compensation of between £1000 and £3000.
Severe cases of food poisoning which require hospitalisation can often result in much greater awards of compensation.
Food poisoning Facts
- There are 22 different major types of foodborne diseases.
- Children under the age of five are most vulnerable to developing a serious case of food poisoning.
- The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics advises that the most efficient way to reduce food poisoning would be for people to wash their hands when preparing and handling food.
- Washing meat and poultry is frequently counter-productive and actually contributes to cross contamination, rather than preventing food poisoning.
Contact Us
If you would like to discuss your claim or how we can help you, please contact us by phone on 01772 562084, by e mail at info@www.theclaimspartnership.co.uk or by any of the Quick Contact Forms on this page. We don’t charge. We are never in a rush and we’re happy to help you as much as we can.