Lack of Evidence Defeats Holiday Injury Claims

A man who slipped and fell into a swimming pool in Portugal and hit his head has lost his claim against the tour operators.

Mr Healey was on holiday when he fell into the pool, which did not have the recommended two-metre width of non-slip tiling around its perimeter. He claimed that he slipped and fell because the tiles surrounding the pool were slippery because they were wet. Although some eye-witnesses claimed he had dived into the pool, the court concluded that on the balance of probabilities, he had fallen. However, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the reason for the fall was that the tiles were wet.

In a case earlier this year, an inebriated holidaymaker who was rendered quadriplegic as a result of falling into a swimming pool also failed in his claim that had there been a non-slip surface surrounding the pool, he would not have fallen.

It should also be noted that many holiday insurance policies exclude claims for injuries that occur when the policy holder is inebriated.