Holiday illness

Alan_Bowen

I think you are alleging food poisoning which required admittance to a hospital? If so I assume you also sought medical advice when you returned home as the most important issue is to try and link what you eat to the subsequent effects. Do you know if others were taken ill at the same time, the operator's rep clearly isn't going to tell you but it should be obvious and generally people talk amongst themselves when there is a food issue. If you were the only person affected it makes it much harder to allege that the hotel was at fault.

Under the Package Travel Regulations, an operator can be liable for the acts and defaults of a hotel, but the onus is on you to show fault. Did the Rep complete a form, and give you a copy, when you sought help, did she have a queue of people waiting for the same advice? These are the sorts of issues you need to be considering at this stage

NoodleDoodleMan

COLIN_in_NOTTS said:

soolin said:

It should be your insurance , but most require you to notify them at point you need treatment so they can pre approve it and direct you to the correct place Did you notify them when you sought medical assistance at all? 

Unfortunately, I took advice at the time from the holiday rep, who directed me with the help of hotel staff, to a doctor. Who, in turn, advised I should go to their facility due to needing to be admitted. This was apparently a private facility, and they did not recognise the EHIC or GHIC card, just my credit card. However, I did inform the insurance company while in triage at said medical facility, and was discharged back to the hotel the next morning.

The hotel rep followed the correct procedure, as did the hotel staff,  no improper practice there, so I can't see they have a case to answer in any immediate failure of a duty of care.

As Soolin says, the hospital should have contacted your insurance company when you were admitted to confirm that they will cover the cost of treatment etc. That is standard.

The vast majority of tourists that need medical treatment are referred to a private clinic or hospital where EHIC cards are not recognised - that's why travel insurance is a "must have" for holidays.

The hospital should have provided you with paperwork, indicating the nature of your ailment and treatment - and this should have been flagged up to your GP on returning back to the UK.

It would help if you could expand on the illness as that is a central issue.

TELLIT01

The main situation where a tour operator may have a direct responsibility for medical care would be if staying at an All Inclusive resort and suffered from food poisoning AND the traveller could prove they hadn't eaten anything outside the resort.  In most situations the tour operator or their rep may offer assistance but it is still the travellers responsibility to contact their insurer and obtain permission for any treatment.

That is why people are asking for more information - not being nosey. 

NoodleDoodleMan

COLIN_in_NOTTS said:

You are so right, having a cough is not worthy of trying to get a refund. And as for the illness which put me in hospital, it was caused by the tour operators contractors, ie the hotel. But you don't need to know that.

Actually that is a key issue.

What was the medical diagnosis from the hospital ?

 

MATTR5

COLIN_in_NOTTS if the hotel was the cause of your illness then yes the Tour Operator is potentially/probably liable but the burden of proof would be on you 
They are NOT liable for any illness you've caused yourself or that has been caused by a supplier not contracted through them
It has to have been caused by a supplier contracted through them 
They are NOT responsible for your welfare outside of that scope 
It took you two replies to provide that info "it was caused by the tour operators contractors, ie the hotel. But you don't need to know that" and YES because of the above we DID need to know that 
Moving on 

You are covered under the Package Travel Regulations (EU but the UK has not left PTR) as follows - "Under the

PTR, the tour operator is liable to the consumer for any damage proved to have been caused to them by the failure to perform the contract or the improper performance of the contract. This would include liability for personal injury from negligence in a resort (such as gastric illness (‘GI’) arising from food poisoning, or ‘slips and trips).

So people asking you further questions as above is really just them trying to get more info from you to see if this applies

In your case Id submit a claim to the Tour Op - you will be greatly helped if you did a written complaint to the Rep if you thought the Tour Op/Hotel was responsible then I'm hoping you did this but its not the end of the world if you didn't 

If they refuse to pay and you don't want to pursue then claim from your Insurance - it could be they pay out and claim from the Tour Op but they could just refer you back 

With the info you have given that's the best help we can give i'd say - If we had more info re what happened we could help more - eg food poisoning you need other guests to have been affected id say, trip or fall you need proof it happened in the hotel and what caused it (eg loose step)  but i think you have enough info to proceed now 

I am a Travel Agent

My company’s ABTA/ATOL numbers are G9172/6053. MSE doesn't check my status as a Travel Agent, so you need to take my word for it. You can check my ATOL with the CAA. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Travel Agent Code of Conduct.

jimjames

emmajones1976 said:

Sandtree said:

COLIN_in_NOTTS said:

Sorry to have rattled your curiosity emmajones1976 - My question about "tour operators being responsible the welfare of their customers", was because I read it while searching for info on the subject, and I was looking for support regarding a ruined holiday.

It may be helpful if you are clearer on your question... are you looking to get your medical costs covered or are you looking for a partial refund of your holiday for loss of enjoyment?

Even the latter is irrelevant is the illness wasnt caused by the tour operator and/or its contractors.  
I have just returned from a week away and had a nasty cough all week, I didnt think to contact Jet2 on return to say this ruined my enjoyment of the holiday and to ask for a partial refund.

Potentially that would have ruined the holiday, that cough could have been Covid19 and required isolation. Spain requires any such symptoms to be reported to their medical team for the area to determine if testing required.

But back to the OP, if the details are provided then others may be able to give more advise

CKhalvashi

COLIN_in_NOTTS said:

You are so right, having a cough is not worthy of trying to get a refund. And as for the illness which put me in hospital, it was caused by the tour operators contractors, ie the hotel. But you don't need to know that.

Actually it's very relevant.

What was the illness and how was it caused by the contractors? It was obviously severe enough to put you in hospital, so what medical evidence do you have available?

Which country was this in? This is also extremely relevant as in some countries you will need to be extremely careful of making these allegations unless your evidence is rock solid as the hotel owners will expect to be compensated as a starting point. If you have a genuine claim though that's backed up by evidence, I would encourage this route to be pursued.

Mattr5 also has some very good points.

When you have this information, that will be the time to speak to the company you booked through and your insurer to see what can be done. There will be likely no automatic right to compensation over and above costs, but your insurance should cover at least the medical bills you have faced.

emmajones1976

jimjames said:

emmajones1976 said:

Sandtree said:

COLIN_in_NOTTS said:

Sorry to have rattled your curiosity emmajones1976 - My question about "tour operators being responsible the welfare of their customers", was because I read it while searching for info on the subject, and I was looking for support regarding a ruined holiday.

It may be helpful if you are clearer on your question... are you looking to get your medical costs covered or are you looking for a partial refund of your holiday for loss of enjoyment?

Even the latter is irrelevant is the illness wasnt caused by the tour operator and/or its contractors.  
I have just returned from a week away and had a nasty cough all week, I didnt think to contact Jet2 on return to say this ruined my enjoyment of the holiday and to ask for a partial refund.

Potentially that would have ruined the holiday, that cough could have been Covid19 and required isolation. Spain requires any such symptoms to be reported to their medical team for the area to determine if testing required.

But back to the OP, if the details are provided then others may be able to give more advise

Well no it couldnt, I had had it for 3 weeks at that point and had done numerous tests at home before going away.
Nice try though

I dont think the OP is coming back.