Legal News

A father from Washington who fractured his skull after falling at his hotel in the Spanish resort of Magaluf spent three weeks in an induced coma before being flown back home to Newcastle.

Michael Robinson, 54, slipped and fell on the tiled floor of his Magaluf hotel room as he went to answer the door.

Mr Robinson was enjoying a holiday with a friend and his two brothers – who took him to Juanida Hospital, where at first he appeared unharmed. However, he was rushed to intensive care after his condition began to deteriorate.

Doctors in Spain placed Mr Robinson in an induced coma using morphine, to prevent further damage to his brain. A section of his skull was then removed to relieve pressure on his brain. Mr Robinson was suffering from a severe brain haemorrhage, having fractured his skull in two places.

Michael’s wife Lynne has now flown him back home to Newcastle Airport, where he was rushed to intensive care at Sunderland Royal Hospital to continue his recovery.

Doctors told his wife Lynne that taking aspirin every day after a heart attack two years ago might have prevented his blood from clotting, causing severe bleeding.

Aspirin belongs to a group of drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), which help thin the blood and prevent or reduce inflammation. However this can also prevent the blood from clotting and patients facing surgery have to stop taking blood thinning drugs like aspirin at least a week before operations.

Claiming compensation for Holiday Accidents

Claims for injuries sustained in holiday or travel accidents – if caused by the negligence of another party – fall under the area of law known as personal injury.

This area of the law also covers preventable holiday illness – for example, bacterial and parasitic gastrointestinal infections such as salmonella, campylobacter and cryptosporidium caused by poor standards of hygiene and food preparation at package holiday hotels.

Not all holiday accidents are the fault of the hotel or the tour operator, but the sort of holiday accidents which can be claimed for if you book a package holiday include:

• Balcony falls (from balconies with no guard rail or insufficient safety warnings or maintenance)
• Burns and scalds (if self catering accommodation is poorly maintained and equipment faulty)
• Glass injuries (if the hotel room’s patio door is not maintained adequately or not clearly marked)
• Lift and escalator accidents (if the lift or escalator is poorly maintained and stops suddenly or falls)
• Road traffic accidents (if a coach driver is negligent or a hire car is unsafe and is booked as part of a package holiday)
• Slips, trips and falls (on floors left wet with no warning sign or on badly maintained or badly lit steps or stairways)
• Sports accidents (including swimming pool accidents, horse riding accidents, balloon ride accidents, quad bike accidents etc, if there was insufficient training or supervision, or safety equipment was poor)
• Swimming pool accidents (slipping on wet or poorly maintained steps or walkways by the pool).

These are just some of the holiday accidents holidaymakers who book a package holiday can claim for under the Package Travel Regulations 1992 – or using the Montreal Convention (accidents on aircraft) or the Athens Convention (accidents at sea).

Holidaymakers injured in holiday accidents have three years from the date of injury to make a claim.

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors offer a full range of holiday accident services to holidaymakers wishing to make a claim for their injuries against a package holiday company.

Call Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors for advice on claiming for holiday accidents on 020 7923 4020.