Holiday crash leads to compensation
A man from Oxfordshire has made a successful claim for compensation after he suffered personal injuries while on holiday.
The man along with his fiancee had booked a last minute package deal to Limassol on the south coast of Cyprus.
On the day after their arrival the man booked a one day Jeep safari into the Troodos Mountains, for himself and his fiancee.
Early the next day the couple were collected from their hotel and they clambered into the Jeep with six other passengers. They set out on the journey and were driven on winding roads through traditional little villages all the way up through the mountains.
They visited several beautiful locations along the way and in the afternoon, finished with a drive to the top of Mount Olympus, the highest point of the mountain range.
Journey by Jeep ends in an accident
The return journey involved going off-road and was extremely bumpy. The passengers expressed their concern but the tour guide assured them that this was the nature of the trip and that they were safe because he had taken this journey many times before and "knew the mountain roads like the back of his hand."
Within minutes of these words however, the Jeep overturned and the passengers collided with one another as they were thrown across to the other side of the vehicle. None of them were strapped in as seatbelts were not installed.
Fortunately, the road where the vehicle accident occurred was fairly wide and the Jeep was not thrown into the valley below, which would have almost certainly been a fatal accident. Many of the passengers sustained serious personal injuries and some were knocked unconscious.
The man managed to shield his fiancee during the accident, meaning she only suffered superficial injuries. He, on the other hand, took the brunt of the impact as the vehicle's roof hit the floor and sustained a serious closed head injury, cuts to his face as well as damage to his shoulder and neck tissues, which was suspected as a whiplash injury.
The passengers were rushed to hospital via air ambulance and all survived although the man's condition remained critical for several days. His fiancee did not leave his side and when he was stable they both flew back to the UK.
Affects on work due to accident
He continued to suffer severe headaches, his moods were low and he spent a further three months recovering. When he returned to work - part time initially - he began to experience epileptic episodes which subsided after another five months but greatly affected his work as a computer analyst as well as the couple's plans to get married.
The extent of the personal injuries that he suffered in the road accident and the amount of earnings that had been lost, motivated him to seek personal injury compensation.
He contacted a legal firm and decided to make a compensation claim. He spoke to no win no fee solicitors and described the events that occurred and the injuries that he and his fiancee sustained.
The solicitors went ahead with the claim against the tour operator which he had booked the trip.
They fought to get the man the most compensation available on the basis that the tour operator was responsible for his welfare on the Jeep safari that he booked, under the recommendation of a holiday representative employed by them.
The case was a success and the man received a sum of £54,240. This compensation award helped the man to rebuild his life, afford the medical treatment and care that he needed and the next year he was able to return back to work full time and get married.
Updated on 12/17/2009