How much compensation you receive after an accident or illness abroad will depend on a number of factors related to your injury or illness, its circumstances, and the support and rehabilitation you need.
The amount of compensation you could claim is based on:
- Your condition, and its severity
- Psychological trauma experienced
- Current and future loss of earnings if you've had to stop working in the short or long-term
- Medical expenses you've had to or will have to pay both abroad and in the UK, as well as travel expenses to any appointments
- Your care and support needs – both now and in the future
- Modifications to your home
- Mobility aids
- The amount you had spent on your holiday or travel abroad, and the loss of enjoyment you've experienced
- Your pain and suffering
- Other financial loss or expense due to your injury
For more information, call us on 0800 121 6558 and we'll be happy to discuss your options in a free initial consultation.
If you were involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault, or if you became ill through the crew or cruise liner’s negligence, you could make a claim. We encourage anybody who sustained an illness or injury through no fault of their own to contact us.
We’ll start by setting up a free initial consultation with one of our team. This gives you the chance to explain what happened to you and we’ll let you know if you could claim compensation. We’ll also advise you on the funding options available.
You don’t have to go any further than this initial consultation, but if you choose to continue your claim with us, we’ll begin gathering evidence. We can use a range of evidence to support your claim, including:
- Witness statements
- Independent medical experts
- Receipts
- Photographs / CCTV footage
- Medical records
- Complaint records.
We will then approach the individual or cruise line responsible for your illness or injury and inform them that we intend to make a claim. The process will be quicker if they admit fault and accept how much compensation we feel you need. In this case, we’ll also work to get you interim payments, which can be used to pay for ongoing expenses before your claim is settled.
However, if they disagree with the compensation amount or won’t admit responsibility, we’ll need to prove it was their fault. This may involve initiating court proceedings. We try to keep claims from going to court, but we’ll be by your side every step of the way if we need to take your claim to court.
Many claims can still be settled out of court even after trial dates have been set.
Many of our cases are funded with a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that there’s no financial risk to you when making a compensation claim.
At the start of your case, we'll discuss funding options with you, advising you which we think is most suitable. If you have legal expenses insurance (LEI) or are covered by a trade union policy, these may be best for you. Legal expenses insurance is included in many household, travel or car insurance policies, so it’s always worth checking whether you’re already covered.
If we think you're best supported by a No Win No Fee agreement, we'll explain the process clearly. You'll only have to pay anything if your claim is successful – even then your opponent will pay most of our fees, with the remaining costs coming out of your compensation settlement.
Please visit our No Win No Fee page for more information on how it works.
The time limit under the Athens Convention to bring a claim is normally two years, although it can be up to three years for children or people without mental capacity. This time limit begins from the date of disembarkation (when you get off the ship).
However, the Limitation Act 1980’s discretion to extend the time limit doesn’t apply to the Athens Convention. For this reason, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible to start your claim.
In the UK, you usually need to make a compensation claim within three years of your accident or illness.
In fatal cases, the family of the deceased has three years to make a claim, starting from either the date your loved one died, or the date you received the post-mortem results.
However, these time limits vary a great deal from country to country and are much shorter in some countries, so when an accident or illness has taken place abroad, it's vital that you contact us as soon as possible. We are experts in international law, and have a worldwide network of partner law firms that we work with, so we'll be able to advise you on specific time limits. Contact us today on 0800 121 6558 for a free consultation on your case, and we'll be happy to help.
Even if your accident or illness occurred abroad, you can often make a claim here in the UK, though this will vary depending on your circumstances. For example, if you suffered an accident or illness while staying in a hotel as part of a package holiday, you should be able to make a claim against the tour operator here in the UK.
You can also usually claim in the UK if you’re claiming against an individual insurer or employer that is based in the UK, or a business or insurer based in the EU. The law around compensation is different in each country, so we will consider where it would be best to make your claim in order to get the best possible result for you.
If you do have to make a claim abroad, there’s nothing to worry about as we have years of experience in helping clients to claim in more than 80 countries around the world. We work with an international network of law firms to represent and support our clients and their families when they need to claim, no matter which country the accident or illness occurred in. Most claims are settled out of court, so it’s unlikely that you will need to travel abroad for a court case. If this is necessary in your case, we will support you every step of the way.
If you have any questions or concerns about making a claim abroad, contact us on 0800 121 6558 for a free consultation. We'll be able to advise you on your options, and talk you through the process.
No, it doesn’t matter where your accident or illness happened. The Athens Convention states that cruise liners and ferries (“carriers”) must have enough insurance to cover any accidents that happen.
So, wherever in the world your cruise ship was when you became ill or had an accident, we can help you to make a claim for compensation. Get in touch with us to tell us what happened, and we’ll begin work on your claim.
Because the nature of each cruise ship claim is different, the amount of compensation awarded in each case varies.
To get an idea of how much your claim could be worth, contact us today. We’ll arrange a free initial consultation where we’ll learn more about what happened to you and advise you on how much you could claim.
Your compensation amount will be a full reflection of:
- Your pain and suffering
- Any expenses you’ve incurred, such as travel or medical expenses
- Your long-term care needs
- Any specialist treatment or equipment you’ll need
- Any modifications you need making to your home
- The price of your cruise
- Loss of earnings you’ve had.
Yes, you can claim compensation if you became injured or ill while on a cruise somewhere in the UK.
UK cruise lines and ferries are still subject to the Athens Convention, which states cruise liners must have insurance in place should an accident occur.
If you booked your cruise through a smaller UK-based company, they’ll likely have public liability insurance. We’ll be able to claim against this to get you the compensation you deserve.
We’re able to handle most cruise ship claims for injury or illness on a no win no fee basis.
To make a no win no fee claim, you must enter into an agreement that’s linked to a suitable insurance policy. We’ll discuss the finer points with you before we start working for you and advise you on what we believe would be the best funding option for you.
We’ll always discuss all funding options available to you before we begin your claim.
