Dream Holiday in Sardinia?

How to get the right compensation for a ruined holiday

The vast majority of people plan and look forward to their annual holiday for some time before the event, making sure that flights, hotel, airport transport etc. together with choosing a reliable tour operator  are all carefully selected and should meet your expectations.  The all important holiday is something that everyone looks forward to. 

What can you do when all your best laid plans go wrong through no fault of your own?   Flights cancelled; baggage is lost; poor service in the hotel or hotel resembles a building site; resort way below standards indicated in the brochures; are some but by no means all the things that can turn your dream holiday into a nightmare.

You may be afraid that your only option is to go back home and put the incident behind you.  Fortunately, this is not necessarily the case, you may, under certain circumstances, have the right to compensation for the issues you have had to endure. 

If you have booked a travel package through a tour operator who has failed to fulfill his duty of care by failing to ensure that the package that was sold complied with the services described, then they are responsible under Arts. 47 ff. D.lgs. 79/2011, which is a Legislative Decree of the Italian Government.

Furthermore, even if you made your own travel and accommodation arrangements, you can still claim compensation against the organisations and businesses you engaged during the course of your holiday, with regard to any damages or failings you have suffered, under art. 1218 of the Italian Civil Code, whereby a company that fails to perform exactly its obligation, is compelled to compensate for the damage.

However, not every experience deviating from your expectations gives right to compensation. As a general rule, compensation is not due and cannot be claimed for in the event of occurrences that cannot be controlled.   

As a general rule, Courts tend to uphold the claims where there is significant damage and it was caused by a lack of due diligence from the tour operator.

Many different types of personal injuries can happen whilst abroad under many different circumstances. Whether you have had a road accident abroad, a cruise ship accident, a skiing accident, or possibly suffered from food poisoning whilst staying in a hotel, provided negligence can be demonstrated and the cause or causes of the incident were beyond your control and you were not complicit in the event by any of your own actions, the same field of law will be used. 

For personal injury cases, claimants will need to have full details of injuries and any treatment undertaken, the date and time the accident happened and the individuals involved. It will be necessary to see evidence from a medical professional as to the extent of your injuries. The report will help personal injury lawyers to estimate the value of your claim.  It would also be helpful if there was photographic evidence of negligence where perhaps warning signage missing in respect of risks, for example warnings against potential hazards related to a swimming pool e.g. shallow water, do not dive, slippery surfaces etc.

It is also important to keep notes on the extra expenses you have incurred as a result of your injuries; this can include travel expenses, child care and medical expenses.  

Additionally the details of any insurance policies, bearing in mind that a considerable number of household and motor insurance policies include legal expenses, this will help lawyers advise you on the best way to fund your claim.

Our personal injury lawyers at Giambrone will be able to assist you in all matters relating to claims for damages relating to accidents and other incidents whilst you were abroad.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.