To expect compensation from holiday company

[Ihaveausername]

Changing a few details and being vague to remain unidentifiable. My partner and I recently had a 2 week holiday somewhere warm to celebrate a birthday and anniversary. On day 2 of the holiday my husband was injured as a result of something breaking (that shouldn't have). He grazed his forearm from fingertip to elbow, slight grazing to the leg and suffered a bump to the head. He received first aid from a hotel employee including an ice pack for his head. The next few days were a write off until his wounds healed and he didn't feel so sore. I have pictures of it all and the bruises He still had 6 days later. It was reported at the time and the travel company representatives checked in on him.
On our return I submitted the photos and a report of the incident to the travel company for some kind of apology / compensation, but they have told us that is not possible as we did not get a medical report.
This seems so unfair and we are wondering if we should take it further. What are our chances? Anyone have any experience of this.

The first thing you would be asked to produce for any court case is medical evidence. That’s the first thing to keep in your mind.

The second thing is if he was that badly injured refusal to seek medical attention suggests impaired capacity. You don’t respect that. You act in the best interests of your loved one. Seeking compensation is not that.

The impact on his mental health? You mean that his ego was the most injured part of him.

No compensation claim would be dealt with directly with the hotel, if the Op booked a package (mostly disliked on MN) then she has the protection of the package travel regulations (unlike if she'd sourced her accom and flights herself through different suppliers). It would all go through the Tour Operator who would likely have an indemnity clause in their contract with the hotelier). If the Tour Operator gave compensation, they'd look to recover their losses from the hotelier.

I'm not a huge fan of the compensation culture, it has knock on effects for everyone, it raises the costs of everyone's future holidays.
It costs Tour Operators money each and every time they get an email from someone saying they were injured on holiday. Plus some people take the p*ss.

Yes accidents happen, sometimes they are just that, nobody could have foreseen or forestalled it happening. But sometimes there is a breach in the duty of care by the holiday provider (and subsequently the hotel) in failing to ensure somewhere was reasonably safe.

'The impact on mental health'

With this thread, you really are spoiling us OP ...

l think your Dh has come off lightly tbh OP, my Mum and my DH are both on blood thinners and they really bleed into the skin when they bruise .

The impact of being scared I'd imagine, of being overly cautious and worried but hopefully that will become a memory and not long lasting.
Compo is another thing OP, as already stated not getting him checked out properly I would imagine voids all claim.
I fractured my ankle on a sunbed the day we were traveling home a few years back, the hotel doctor strapped me up gave me pain meds/ injection and a wheelchair as was long haul ( I know not advisable but I wanted to get home) I didn't attempt to claim as it was by choice that I didn't seek other medical advice.
Work on building his confidence back up if that is the MH aspect and basically suck it up.

OP you really are over egging this now.

He didn't want to see a doctor, you didn't think you needed to take him to a medical centre, the impact on his medical health.

Accidents happen sometimes. He has some health issues I get that. He may have been extra cautious afterwards. But now the impact on his mental health.
This phrase is just so over used.

He had an accident and grazed some of his arm. He bumped his head but it wasn't serious enough to warrant any medical examination. He decided to keep his arm out of the pool to avoid any potential infection. He felt a little cautious afterwards.

These are not things that require compensation and really should have been forgotten by now.

Yes, of course you can put in a claim for compensation. Your holiday was affected by this incident. Ignore the naysayers.

If you need help writing a letter, visit your local Citizens Advice. It’s the sort of thing I would have helped out with years ago when I did pro bono work back in the 90’s.

When I was involved in a car accident a few years ago, I suffered injuries inc. whiplash but didn’t break any bones and I received over €30k in compensation…!

I get where you're coming from now. My late husband suffered hemiparesis following an ischaemic stroke and was on blood thinners. The floor giving way from beneath him would have knocked the stuffing from him - and there's the alarming blood loss you get on warfarin, etc.

I've had enough trouble getting money out of our travel insurance company for medical expenses and I'd spoken to them before I called the doctor and had medical reports confirming the doctor had been out to the room 3 times!

This is an insurance matter. Whether it's the OP's own travel insurance, or the tour operator's or the hotel's liability insurance, this will be covered by an insurance company somewhere. And no insurance company will pay for either a medical expenses claim, or a knock-on damages claim caused by a medical incident, without a doctor's report.

For example, here is the policy conditions booklet for Jet2's travel insurance. At the bottom of page 20, under "Personal accident", we find "To make a claim under this section of your policy where relevant you must provide us with ...
Detailed medical report from your consultant."

OP, I get that your DH probably doesn't want to have much to with doctors, given that he's probably having enough regular contact with them as it is. But that's the collective deal we have that makes healthcare and compensation possible. The claimant has to put in a bit of an effort, because otherwise the scammers would move in and we'd all be paying far more for our holidays and healthcare. There is no alternative world where we just take someone's word that their accident caused them X amount of distress.

My late husband was the same - steadfastly refused to see doctors after being in hospital for a stroke. It can make life difficult.

Unfortunately, the OP's husband has pretty much pulled the rug out from under them.

I know that many people on here are commenting that it's a minor injury...but when you're in your 70s and have had a stroke, that kind of fall really shakes you up.

You accept that he chose not to see the doctor yet you seem to keep pushing the extent of his injuries. As people keep trying to say you would need actual evidence to make a claim. All of this is hearsay. Yes it might have effected his confidence but there is nothing concrete. At least if you had taken him to hospital there would be a medical record and he could have told them he felt distressed.

Also coming home and complaining now is the wrong time. Why didn't you go back to reception and tell them about the impact on your holiday? If you didn't book through a company and there wasn't a rep, you could have asked to speak to someone senior at the hotel. That's when maybe you would have had a token gesture given to you as compensation (e.g. room service, free meal, flowers delivered as an apology).

It's very much your word against theirs.

WTF - that's dreadful. If it's an ABTA regulated travel company (like TUI), they have a complaints process and independent free arbitration that might be worth considering.

Not sure you'll get an compensation - but worth reporting for H&S grounds, if nothing else.

Also leave reviews of hotel other customers are aware of the hotel's safety standards

PS You're not obligated to amend a claim on insurance and doubt it would be met for the reasons posters have been saying. So go through the ho,I day company's complaints procedure

My husband died when he was 82. Had had a stent, open heart surgery and an ischaemic stroke before a massive heart took him 11 yrs after his triple bypass. (We were promised 10 yrs by the hospital.)

The police who attended at the house doubted his age when they saw him. Prior to his heart trouble, he'd always kept himself fit. (Weightlifting champ at uni, ran, took up karate in his late 50s.)

Compensation? Behave. Getting straight in the sea could have done him the world of good.

It's a different matter when you're in your 70s and have had a stroke. Frequently you're left with balance and/or sight problems which affect your confidence. I can imagine that a floor suddenly giving way beneath a stroke survivor would have had a catastrophic effect on their mental health.

There's a bit of a difference between a young, healthy child and a 70 year old stroke survivor on blood thinners.

Ah he took a few mental health days as well. Well that makes perfect sense after the scratch.

I'm sorry, OP - you should have included your husband's health challenges in your first post. Too many people have missed it and are being needlessly sarcastic.

My husband used to say that the only people who could understand the effects of a stroke were those who'd experienced one and possibly their carer(s).

I'll add that people often don't understand the impact of a fall on an older person until they're older themselves. My DH shrugged off not-so-minor injuries when he was in his 40s and 50s. Once the heart trouble and stroke hit, it was a completely different matter.

When you had the car accident and you were injured did you get medical treatment immediatley afterwards and had medical records to back up your compensation claim?

Have you somehow missed that NO medical treatment whatsoever was sought after the OP's incident and consequently they have NO evidence of when, what, where and how the injuries occurred to provide as evidence for any claim?

So what is the relevance of your situation to theirs?

Which makes the fact that no medical treatment was sought - not even a check up - all the more baffling wouldn't you agree?

I know she says her DH didn't want treatment but surely with his medical history and her obvious concern she could have over ruled him and called a doctor despite his protests?

I think the OP is just seeing ££££££ signs.