Lancashire woman receives huge payout after Fuerteventura holiday nightmare
A Lancashire grandmother has received £23,000 in damages from package holiday company On The Beach after she sustained significant injuries from a headfirst fall along a “poorly lit and badly surfaced” pathway on her first night on holiday in Fuerteventura.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was compensated after falling headfirst along a ‘horrendous’ hotel pathway in Spain.
She suffered multiple soft tissue injuries, severe facial bruising and long-term shoulder issues at the two-star Hotel Puerto Caleta on the east coast of the island.
Her legal representatives, Hudgell Solicitors successfully argued the hotel failed to maintain the pathway and to ensure it was adequately lit.
Holiday ‘completely ruined’
Under package travel regulations, On The Beach, with whom the woman and her family booked the holiday, was legally forced to accept full responsibility for the woman’s fall.
The 52-year-old woman said: “It was our first holiday since Covid, and we were really excited and had planned to do loads of wonderful things on the island.
“But after what happened, the holiday was completely ruined from day one.
“I couldn’t swim, couldn’t eat properly – I struggled to chew food – and I felt so self- conscious as the whole side of my face was completely black.”
She added: “I’m not a clumsy person – I rarely have any accidents – so this came as a real shock.
“It was a big event in my life, thinking back, as, even when I got home, I was still in a lot of pain and had an unusual lump on my face that made me look deformed.”
From the moment they checked in the woman claims they were only given a hand-drawn map of how to find their apartment.
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She added: “The hotel was so disinterested.
“At first. they didn’t provide us with an accident form and when they did give us one it was written in Spanish. After we finally reported the incident, we had a closer look at the block pavement, and it was horrendous – I surely can’t have been the only one to have fallen in the dark down that pathway.
“We also noticed that four lights were not switched on along the pathway the night I fell. They were on the next night, so it was clear someone had forgotten (to turn them on).
“The hotel was so confrontational and made me feel very uncomfortable.
“We went back to Fuerteventura recently and paid a visit to the hotel and, unbelievably, they still hadn’t fixed the pathway.
“It’s because we were treated so unfairly and did nothing to improve the situation that I asked for help from Hudgells.”
Accident abroad specialist Anne Thomson, a senior litigation executive for Hudgells, said: “Our client understands that accidents abroad can happen, especially on the first day of a holiday when people might be tired from a long journey and still acclimatising to new surroundings.
“But, in this case, it was quite clear she was badly let down by a hotel that showed a complete disregard for the health and safety of their guests.
“The pathway that led to their apartment was in an awful mess, while the family were plunged into darkness due to a clear-and-obvious human error.”
She added: “We urge all holidaymakers to exercise caution along poorly lit and badly surfaced walkways and to seek immediate legal action from an accident abroad law firm if they find themselves in a similar situation.”
An On the Beach spokesperson said: “The hotel accepted responsibility for the incident and its insurer settled the claim.
“We supported the process to ensure the woman received compensation.”