Injured on Holiday abroad on flow-rider machine...

frag420

So i was badly injured on holiday last week. Now I am not a litigious person, I am alive and thats what matters and I would hate to think someone to lose a job(s) over a claim!? However from talking to people that were there and saw what happened and people I have talked to since the accident happened the general consensus is that I was not at fault and that the other party was negligent, allow me to explain.

I was on a flow-rider machine (surf type machine you see on cruise ships).

I was on for about 5-10 mins, fell off a couple of times but all fun, no injuries.

There are two sides to the machine, however at this time only one side was turned on (water flowing up hill)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcZ-oD8QCmc

In the above video, if you can imagine its split in two with a big inflatable tube barrier down the middle, halving the wave into two separate sides.

At some stage I fell of the board and was being washed up the slope when I started to go under the middle barrier. Now this barrier is a large inflatable tube, I was forced under it by the power of the water on the side I was using.

Now some water gets through to the other side so it is very slippy. I ended up slipping down the bottom feet first into the water jets that were not turned on and ended up with a very deep gash on my right foot, I now have 15 ugly stitches on my heal, on crutches for about a month, painful to walk etc.

I will admit I had bought a beer and had literally two sips before getting on the machine, I was not drunk and had only just had a big breakfast a few hours previously. There is video footage of me just before the accident on the wave machine and you can see that I am more than capable on it.

I am curious to know my options here. I am going to be left with a nasty scar about 10 inches long on my foot. Not sure about how of it will affect my day to day life, doubtful apart from some discomfort walking maybe, tbc!?

If it helps I based in the UK and the accident happened in another EU country.

Has anyone any thoughts on this?

thanks

frAg

Mr. Incognito

You will need to speak to a solicitor.

You will likely have a claim depending on the circumstances.

cruizer101

Can you find out the manufacturer of the device and see what their recommendations are for using it, if they weren't following them you might have something to go with.
Had you sprained an ankle or something I'd say you had no case, but for there to be sharp edges which could cause a significant gash does seem negligent to me. Were you out of work as a result of it.
If its just a case of claiming for having a scar on your foot i wouldn't bother as thats a bit much really I think.

frag420

I would view it like this, you sign a waiver before getting into a race car, you have an accident because the steering wheel was faulty or maybe the brake lines were not working, no the fault of the user, the fault of the operator surely as the machine was not up to standard for safe use?!

Also just to clarify, I was not on a cruise ship. I used that to help explain the type of machine I was on, apologies for any confusion. It was land based.

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

You will need to speak to a solicitor.

You will likely have a claim depending on the circumstances.

Thats what I want to find out here. the thing is most wont touch this as it was not a package holiday!!

cruizer101 wrote: »

Can you find out the manufacturer of the device and see what their recommendations are for using it, if they weren't following them you might have something to go with.
Had you sprained an ankle or something I'd say you had no case, but for there to be sharp edges which could cause a significant gash does seem negligent to me. Were you out of work as a result of it.
If its just a case of claiming for having a scar on your foot i wouldn't bother as thats a bit much really I think.

yeah I am going to see who the manufacturer is and see what they say or try download a safety/user manual.

It is a significant gash, very deep and ugly. Even the nurse turned away when she saw it. I am not out of work as I can work from home. As I said I am not one to just go running to a solicitor when something happens, if I did I would be a lot richer by now believe me, however I will have a very nasty, visible scar on my foot. I wear flip/flops a lot so it would be visible most of the year if that has any bearing!? I am just looking at options currently.

thanks

frAg

nuac

Mod
Leaving open for discussion subject to forum rules
imho a technical report from an appropriate qualified professional would be required before consulting a lawyer practising where incident happened
For clarity title expanded from "Injured on holiday...."

_Brian

Would holiday insurance not cover this rather than following the cruise company?

frag420

_Brian wrote: »

Would holiday insurance not cover this rather than following the cruise company?

Hands up...I forgot all about travel insurance!! Dumb move.

Wasn’t too expensive to be treated.

Eric Cartman

frag420 wrote: »

So i was badly injured on holiday last week. Now I am not a litigious person, I am alive and thats what matters and I would hate to think someone to lose a job(s) over a claim!? However from talking to people that were there and saw what happened and people I have talked to since the accident happened the general consensus is that I was not at fault and that the other party was negligent, allow me to explain.

I was on a flow-rider machine (surf type machine you see on cruise ships).

I was on for about 5-10 mins, fell off a couple of times but all fun, no injuries.

There are two sides to the machine, however at this time only one side was turned on (water flowing up hill)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcZ-oD8QCmc

In the above video, if you can imagine its split in two with a big inflatable tube barrier down the middle, halving the wave into two separate sides.

At some stage I fell of the board and was being washed up the slope when I started to go under the middle barrier. Now this barrier is a large inflatable tube, I was forced under it by the power of the water on the side I was using.

Now some water gets through to the other side so it is very slippy. I ended up slipping down the bottom feet first into the water jets that were not turned on and ended up with a very deep gash on my right foot, I now have 15 ugly stitches on my heal, on crutches for about a month, painful to walk etc.

I will admit I had bought a beer and had literally two sips before getting on the machine, I was not drunk and had only just had a big breakfast a few hours previously. There is video footage of me just before the accident on the wave machine and you can see that I am more than capable on it.

I am curious to know my options here. I am going to be left with a nasty scar about 10 inches long on my foot. Not sure about how of it will affect my day to day life, doubtful apart from some discomfort walking maybe, tbc!?

If it helps I based in the UK and the accident happened in another EU country.

Has anyone any thoughts on this?

thanks

frAg

the story should end here. I feel like you probably do have a claim considering our culture these days, but I also feel like you shouldn't have a claim because of the nature of these machines and the acceptable level of risk one must undertake when using one.

mrsbeebee

Each country has their own individual liability laws. Some are more lax than others. For example, in some countries you won't get money for whiplash whereas in others you might get tens of thousands. I'm sure you might have noticed safety standards in some EU countries are nowhere near as stringent as ours. (ropes as banisters, no guard rails, dodgy tiles etc) I would imagine that you signed a waiver though. You would need to clarify that first.

4ensic15

mrsbeebee wrote: »

Each country has their own individual liability laws. Some are more lax than others. For example, in some countries you won't get money for whiplash whereas in others you might get tens of thousands. I'm sure you might have noticed safety standards in some EU countries are nowhere near as stringent as ours. (ropes as banisters, no guard rails, dodgy tiles etc) I would imagine that you signed a waiver though. You would need to clarify that first.

There is sometimes a holiday operator who may be liable. people who leave Ireland on package holidays are often able to claim against the tour company. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

Under His Eye

The OP really needs to consult a lawyer in the jurisdiction that the event occurred.

frag420

Eric Cartman wrote: »

the story should end here. I feel like you probably do have a claim considering our culture these days, but I also feel like you shouldn't have a claim because of the nature of these machines and the acceptable level of risk one must undertake when using one.

Its really nothing to do with our culture these days. I have not lived in Ireland in a few years and I am not as litigious as many people are back home, I am just investigating options. I fact if I were to sue for every injury I have had in then I would be a very rich person but I haven't as its not in my nature. However I still have to get all clear from the surgeon, this could possibly affect how I walk as it was a deep cut on my heel.

When you get on public transport you accept there is also a risk. if you hurt yourself through no fault of your own, say a faulty door closed on you and badly hurt you, left a nasty 12" scar behind etc, you would be happy to leave it there yes??

I understand acceptable risk, however I do believe they were negligent in terms of user safety and can prove so as we have several minutes of video of me competently using the surf machine before the accident happened.

mrsbeebee wrote: »

Each country has their own individual liability laws. Some are more lax than others. For example, in some countries you won't get money for whiplash whereas in others you might get tens of thousands. I'm sure you might have noticed safety standards in some EU countries are nowhere near as stringent as ours. (ropes as banisters, no guard rails, dodgy tiles etc) I would imagine that you signed a waiver though. You would need to clarify that first.

I was told to look at a list of rules written on a wall(about 15-20 rules) and then signed a separate sheet that more resembled a sign in sheet you get at an office block, name, signature, time you started etc. Again I understand I signed a waver however as mentioned previously I do believe there was negligence at play here!

4ensic15 wrote: »

There is sometimes a holiday operator who may be liable. people who leave Ireland on package holidays are often able to claim against the tour company. That doesn't seem to be the case here.

Yeah it seems most lawyers will jump on this if its through a package operator as its an easy win, not so easy when booked individually.

Under His Eye wrote: »

The OP really needs to consult a lawyer in the jurisdiction that the event occurred.

I managed to get in touch with a lawyer in Lisbon (friends relative) who specialises in injury law as it happens.

I have sent them the relevant details and I am awaiting advise form them as to what are my options.



Thanks all for your input, will update when I know more for whomever is interested!?