Hotel Accident Claims In The Canary Islands – How To Claim Compensation For A Injury?

The Canary Islands have always been a popular destination for British tourists due to the quick flight time and lovely climate throughout the holiday season. While lots of people have a great time and have no problems some have to make a Canary Islands accident claim because of something that happened which the hotel could’ve prevented.

If you would like Legal Expert to make a personal injury claim on your behalf, using our no win no fee solution, then call us today on 0800 073 8804, and we’ll begin right away. If you’d like to know more then carry on reading and we’ll guide you through everything you’re likely to need to know.

Select A Section

• A guide to Canary Islands hotel accident claims
• How to make a claim against a hotel in the Canary Islands
• Claim for a slip and fall at a hotel in the Canary Islands
• Food poisoning at a hotel in the Canary Islands
• Assault or property damage claims
• Can I claim against my hotel for bed bug bites?
• Can I claim against my hotel for an elevator accident?
• Can I claim against my hotel for accidents or illnesses from a swimming pool?
• Can I claim against my hotel for burns?
• Other accidents or injuries you can make a claim against your hotel for
• How to successfully make a Canary Islands hotel accident claim
• What can Canary Islands hotel compensation claims include?
• How much can I claim for an accident at a hotel in the Canary Islands?
• Time limits in which to make a hotel accident claim in the Canary Islands
• No win no fee claims for hotel accidents in the Canary Islands
• Why choose Legal Expert for a Canary Islands hotel accident claim?
• Talk to us now
• Helpful links

A guide to Canary Islands hotel accident claims

The Canary Islands made up of Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro have always been popular with British tourists with thousands flying out every year and enjoying the Spanish sunshine.

Tenerife

Fuerteventura

Gran Canaria

Lanzarote

La Palma

La Gomera

El Hierro

Hotel accident claims in the Canary Islands can happen for a number of reasons but ultimately if an accident is caused by the hotel management’s procedures or by staff mistakes and negligence then a claim can be lodged.

This guide is designed to walk you through the sorts of accident than can occur in a Canary Islands hotel, what you should do if you’re involved and become injured, the time limits to making a claim and finally how Legal Expert are able to help you make your claim using our no win no fee service.

How to make a claim against a hotel in the Canary Islands

Whether you are guest, a visitor or a member of staff at a hotel you are protected by something known as the duty of care. The hotel owner, management and staff are all responsible for the duty of care and it means that they must carry out assessments regularly, mitigate for any risks identified and ensure everybody who works in the hotel knows the policies and procedures around health & safety and that they abide by them at all times.

If your accident was caused by something that was preventable then it is likely that somebody has breached the duty of car and you could begin a hotel compensation claim against either the hotel or your package holiday provider (as the package holiday provider have the same duty of care when selling you that hotel).

Claim for a slip and fall at a hotel in the Canary Islands

Sometimes a slip or fall seems like a minor accident that doesn’t warrant making a claim but sometimes hotel slip and fall settlements are required as the injuries can sometimes lead to multiple attempts at surgery and sometimes the damage can’t ever be fully repaired.

Injuries that can be sustained in a fall include: broken legs and arms, sprained ankles or wrists, soft tissue damage, spinal injuries and head injuries. All of these can cause immediate and obvious symptoms but some may not present themselves for a couple of days and so it is recommended that you exercise caution following any trip, slip or fall in a hotel even if you think you’ve not been seriously injured.

Food poisoning at a hotel in the Canary Islands

Canary Islands illness and food poisoning claims can be made when you are made ill either because you have eaten food which wasn’t stored, prepared, cooked or reheated properly or if the hotels hygiene regime meant that a virus such as Noro virus spread through the hotel.

As well as Noro virus it is possible to be infected with Salmonella and E-Coli as well as other similar conditions which can either be resolved within a few days or can lead to serious life threatening illnesses and either of which can be claimed for it they were due to hotel negligence.

If you have become ill while on holiday in the Canary Islands and a doctor has diagnosed food poisoning of any sort then get in touch with our personal injury solicitors who can help with a Canary Islands illness claim to compensate you for the pain, suffering and the loss of enjoyment of your holiday that has happened but could’ve been prevented.

Assault or property damage claims

An assault is one of the most devastating ways to be injured abroad and can ruin your experience completely and the hotel may be to blame if:

• Their security staff were unavailable or did not get involved when the assailant injured you.
• If their staff allowed the assailant to continue drinking alcohol when it was obvious that their actions were becoming dangerous.
• If the assailant was a member of staff. No matter what the situation a member of staff should never react to an incident with violence against a guest.

If your assaulted while in the Canary Island you should definitely report the incident to hotel staff, your travel rep and consider calling the police as well, if necessary. A compensation claim for assault can include any pain, suffering and embarrassment but also the cost to replace any personal items that were damaged by the assailant’s actions.

As mentioned elsewhere in this guide try to obtain witness statements from people who saw how the incident unravelled and ask them for their contact details so that we can contact them to back up your claims.

Can I claim against my hotel for bed bug bites?

Many people haven’t ever heard of bed bugs and wouldn’t expect them in a hotel, but holiday illness claims can be made if your room has an infestation of bugs. While they’re not dangerous they are very irritating, and you shouldn’t expect your hotel stay to leave you with bite marks over your body.

Hotel bed bug bite compensation can also be claimed if the bugs get into your clothing and subsequently cause an infestation back in your home in the UK. The cost of removing them includes professional services which you can claim back if you can prove the hotel was to blame.

Can I claim against my hotel for an elevator accident?

Most big hotels will have elevators to help guests move between floors and they are very useful when lugging your suitcases around, but they are big pieces of machinery and require proper maintenance to ensure their smooth operation and to prevent faults.

The types of incidents that can lead to claims include:

• Injuries from falling over because the elevator has jolted to a halt due to a fault.
• Being stuck in an elevator in the hotel for any period of time.
• Injuries such as cuts where the elevator doors are damaged and also getting hands or legs trapped in the doors which shouldn’t be possible if the elevator is maintained properly.

Can I claim against my hotel for accidents or illnesses from a swimming pool?

Swimming pools, in general, are where lots of guest go to relax or have fun (depending on the type of hotel) and the staff have a duty of care to ensure that it is safe to use. Accidents anywhere around the pool such as the poolside, the changing room or jacuzzis and saunas can be eligible for claims if the hotel staff could’ve done more to prevent it. Commonly, these accidents can include:

• Illnesses sustained from the pool itself as it hadn’t been cleaned or the maintenance schedule hadn’t been followed correctly.
• Trips and falls where an excessively wet area has not been mopped and dried or now warning signs were used (such in the changing room area).
• Fatal injuries where the lifeguard hasn’t spotted the incident, wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t trained properly on what to do in emergencies.

Any of these types of incidents can lead to personal injury claims and could use our no win no fee service.

Can I claim against my hotel for burns?

Any burns or scalds can lead to hotel accident claims in the Canary Islands, if they were the fault of the hotel or its staff. Incidents that could be deemed to be the hotels fault that lead to scalds or burns can include:

• Food or drink being spilt on you by hotel staff. Obviously, this would be an accident, but the staff probably could’ve taken more care to prevent the accident from happening.
• Food or drink that is served too hot and without warning that causes you to burn or scald yourself.
• Broken baths, water heater or showers which don’t regulate the temperature properly and cause scalding.

If any of these are true in the case of your own accident then you could begin a Canary Islands accident claim with us today.

Other accidents or injuries you can make a claim against your hotel for

A common cause of an accident within the hotel room itself is damaged, old or broken furniture. If you’ve been injured because furniture has collapsed or broken when you’ve used it normally then you may be able to claim against the hotel as they should provide adequate and safe furniture.

Other types of accident in hotel rooms include damaged fixtures and fittings such as handrails or burns from faulty showers or water heaters.

How to successfully make a Canary Islands hotel accident claim

Hotel accident claims in the Canary Islands can be made a lot easier if, while still abroad, you take a number of steps. They may not be the first thing you want to do following an accident abroad, but they could make all the difference between winning or losing your claim. The things you should consider doing, following an accident, are:

• Seek medical treatment as soon as possible. First and foremost, you need to ensure your welfare and if you’re in any doubt speak to a specialist at a medical centre or hospital. The medical records that are logged can be obtained by Legal Expert and submitted as evidence that he accident occurred.
• Ask for the contact details of any witnesses who saw your accident take place. If they have the time ask them if they would mind writing down a statement of what happened, when it happened and what caused it to happen.
• Use your mobile phone to photograph the scene of the accident or video it. Capture as much of the scene as possible and it is very important to try and capture the cause of the accident in the photograph so if for instance you fell due to a faulty handrail then try to photograph the defects that caused you to fall.
• Report the accident to hotel staff or, if you booked the hotel as part of a package holiday, your holiday rep. This is further evidence that can be obtained by our solicitors to substantiate your claim. If the hotel staff can give you a copy of their report then accept it, otherwise take the name of the member of staff as a reference.

These steps will make claiming easier and you should contact us as soon as you return to the UK if you’ve been injured so that the evidence can be reviewed, and your description of events can be recorded while it’s still fresh in your mind.

What can Canary Islands hotel compensation claims include?

The job of a personal injury solicitor is to ensure that your compensation claim includes everything that you are eligible to claim for. There are some elements based on pain and suffering and others based on financial loss which we always try to capture fully before submitting your claim. The elements that can be claimed for are:

• General damages: this is the element that deals with the pain and suffering caused by the injury. They are pre-determined amounts set within a range to cover the very minimal injury right through to loss of limb or even more severe injuries.
• Personal property costs: If any item of personal property was damaged during your accident then this element can cover the cost of replacement or repair. Commonly claims include: damaged clothes, damaged mobile phone and damaged watches.
• Care costs: If, because of your injury, you’ve had to employ somebody to help complete tasks that you couldn’t do then the costs can be claimed back. The same is true if somebody had to travel to the Canary Islands to help you to return home as they wouldn’t have had to had you not been injured.
• Medical costs: If you’ve paid out money to cover the cost of treatment and any prescriptions then you can seek those costs back.

The bulk of any claim is usually from the general damages element but it is important to claim for any other financial losses as once a claim is settled then you can’t go back and ask again if you’ve forgotten something.

How much can I claim for an accident at a hotel in the Canary Islands?

The general damages element of any claim is based on the injury you sustained and importantly the severity of the injury (which it is our job to prove). There’s no such thing as a Canary Islands accident compensation calculator that you may of seen advertised as no two accidents or injuries are the same but the table below shows the schedule of payments for some types of injuries and the range based on severity:

It would be impossible to list every type of injury in this guide so don’t worry if you can’t see yours listed as we can help with any hotel personal injury claim.

Time limits in which to make a hotel accident claim in the Canary Islands

It is the case in most countries that time limits are applied to any personal injury compensation claims. The Canary Islands time limits are set by Spanish law and are detailed in the table below:

The time frame begins from the day of your accident or, if your injuries weren’t diagnosed until a later date, then from when you became aware that you’d been injured.

If you’re not sure which claim in the table above your accident should be lodged under then give us a call and we’ll discuss it with you.

No win no fee claims for hotel accidents in the Canary Islands

You may worry that making a Canary Islands accident claim can be an expensive business and, in some cases, when using a solicitor who charges by the hour (even if they lose the case), you’d be right but not with Legal Expert.

We don’t want our clients to be worrying throughout the claim about what the legal fees might be, so we work on a Conditional Fee Agreement basis (CFA or often known simply as no win no fee).

This means that, once we’ve agreed to take on your case, we will provide you with a CFA document which states exactly what you’ll pay us (a percentage of compensation) and also that if we don’t win compensation then you don’t have to pay us a penny.

We believe this is the fairest and most risk-free way to make a personal injury claim and means that there are no surprises and no worrying throughout the process.

Why choose Legal Expert for a Canary Islands hotel accident claim?

The main thing to know about Legal Expert is that we have years and years of experience in making personal injury claims and therefore we know what’s needed, what isn’t and that makes us really efficient when putting your claim together.

That said, we still take the time to talk to you and really understand your complaint and work with you in a professional but friendly way and we never use technical legal language when discussing the case with you.

We’ll always keep you up to date throughout the claim and, if you receive an offer from the hotel or their insurer, we will let you know what the offer is and whether we think it is fair and fully compensates you for your injuries or not.

Talk to us now

We hope that you’re ready to begin your claim with Legal Expert now that you’ve read this hotel accident claims in the Canary Islands article and now that you know about our risk-free no win no fee service. If you want to get in touch today, then there are number of ways to do so:

Telephone: Call us on 0800 073 8804

Email: Send an email to info@legalexpert.co.uk

Live Chat: use the live chat feature on any page of our site to be connected directly to one of our personal injury specialists.

We are here to help with your claim and answer any queries that you may have (no matter how big or small) so please get in touch now.

Helpful Links

Hotel accident claims – Our generic guide for hotel compensation claims (for anywhere in the world not just the Canary Islands)

Restaurant claims – our guide which includes more information on food poisoning claims

Package holiday claims – Another of our guides, this time regarding package holiday claims (not just within the hotel)

Travel Advice for Spain – a guide to travelling within Spain and the Canary Islands from the British Government

Package holiday regulations – The set of regulations, created in 1992 by the government, that protect package holiday tourists.

If you have any further questions or queries then please get in touch today and we’ll do our best to answer them.