Teesside holidaymakers urged to be careful of serious accidents abroad

People in Teesside who are heading on their holidays to another country are being urged to be careful in case they end up in a bad accident.

UK Government figures show around 2,500 British people find themselves in a foreign hospital each year – many of those will be on their summer holidays.

Record numbers of Brits are heading abroad for their summer holidays with almost four in five (82%) planning a holiday over the summer months, a recent Trip Advisor survey revealed.

Peter Leak is from Hartlepool and he suffered second-degree burns from a hotel shower in Portugal two years ago.

He said: "It was an over the bath shower where you're in contrl of the taps. I turned the cold water taps off first and then it just left scalding hot water. I stepped back to try and get away from the heat of the water. It gave me 17 percent burns on my body, which was both legs, stomach area and groin area.

"If it was a child or if it was a pensioner, it would have been catastrophic. Someone would have died. You think as well of what could have happened and only the day before on the Tuesday, my friend jumped into the shower first and then went for breakfast. Now, if I went into the shower that day and that happened, he wouldn't have been there to pull me out so I do count my blessings as well.

"I'm fine physically now. I've had scarring but thankfully I've made a full recovery in that way. I've obviously got to be careful when I'm on holiday because I've lost skin pigmentation so there's small chances of cancer if I don't be careful as well, so I've got to use the right creams etc.

"It was an accident waiting to happen and unfortunately it was me, but hopefully they've learnt from this and they've took thing into considerable and hopefully it won't happen again, because like I say if it was a child or a pensioner, it could have been catastrophic really."

Tracy Stansfield, a specialist travel litigation solicitor at Hudgell Solicitors, said: “Each and every year we support people who have their summer holidays ruined by accidents which are completely avoidable.

“Many happen in airports and on planes when they are on their way to their break. Suffering an injury is difficult enough at any time, but is often even more upsetting, difficult and costly when it happens on a holiday.

“People have to save a significant amount of money to spend on their holidays, and it is one or two weeks of the year that they most look forward to, so when things go wrong we help with pursuing compensation to help cover the costs incurred and for their injuries, any ongoing treatment and care needs, and any loss of earnings caused.”

The most common types of accidents holidaymakers experience are:

• Accidents in airports, planes and transfer buses – including injuries from items falling from overhead lockers and burns and scalds from hot-drinks spillages

• Injuries in hotels – from falls in poorly lit areas and slips on wet surfaces to accidents involving glass doors

• Swimming pool injuries – from poorly maintained swimming pools and surrounding areas leading to fractures and serious cuts and injuries

• Activity accidents – from injuries on water-taxis to quad-bike and race day accidents.

• Accidents on booked excursions.

• Road Traffic accidents

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