On this page, you will find a guide to the legal process of making a claim for compensation if you’ve had an accident in the Costa Del Sol. It contains information and advice, that will help you to learn about the way that a solicitor will process a holiday claim for you. Everything from how accidents can happen on holiday, through to an explanation of the claims service we off here at Legal Expert.
Of course, if you would rather not read this guide, and instead, have somebody explain things to you, then you can call us at 0800 073 8804. One of our team will take you through our new claims process, and answer any questions you may have, using simple English with no legal jargon.
Select A Section:
- What to do if injured in an accident in the Costa Del Sol
- Emergencies and emergency services in the Costa Del Sol
- Medical care in Spain and Costa Del Sol
- Time limits for accident claims in Spain
- Package holiday injury compensation cases
- You have had an accident on holiday, what claims can we handle?
- Injury or illness at a Costa Del Sol hotel
- Costa Del Sol holiday illness compensation claims
- Slip and fall claims
- Costa Del Sol balcony accidents
- Costa Del Sol car crash and road traffic accident claims
- Can UK solicitors or lawyers conduct my claim
- No win no fee holiday accident claims in the Costa Del Sol
- Start your claim
- Useful Links
What To Do If Injured In An Accident In The Costa Del Sol
If you are injured in an accident while you are on holiday on the Costa Del Sol, and you intend to make a compensation claim once you return home, the steps below will ensure you have the best chance of success:
- While you are still on the Costa Del Sol:
- If you are on a package holiday, and you booked it through a UK based travel vendor, then you must report your accident to the travel company.
- If applicable, for example, you were involved in a vehicle collision or have been assaulted, ensure that the police are aware that the event took place.
- Visit a hospital or clinic, to get proper, professional medical treatment for your injuries, no matter how minor they are.
- If you intend to use private healthcare services and claim back the cost on your medical or travel insurance, make sure you contact your insurer and let them know.
- Gather evidence and witness details. For example, take photographs of the scene of the accident, and ask anyone present for their name, address and contact number.
- When you return to the UK:
- If you have been claiming on your insurance for private medical care in Spain, call your insurer and let them know that you are back in the UK.
- Start to make a list of all the losses that your accident has caused. Both financial losses, and also intangible losses such as having part of your holiday ruined.
- Visit your GP or the local A&E department, to have your injuries checked, and ensure that they have been treated properly.
All of these steps are useful in themselves, but they also provide an additional benefit. Each of them leaves an official record, a documented history of how your accident occurred, and of the injuries that were caused by it. When you return to the UK, call Legal Expert on the number at the end of this guide, so we can help get your holiday accident claim underway.
Emergencies And Emergency Services In The Costa Del Sol
If you are on a family holiday to the Costa Del Sol, and one of you is injured in an accident, there is some good news. The emergency services in Spain are excellent, and they are also very easy to contact using these numbers below:
- 112 – this is a unified service number. When you call it, the system automatically logs your location and you are put through to an operator. The operator will ask you a series of questions, and will then send to relevant emergency service or services.
- 061 – puts you in direct contact with the ambulance service.
- 091 – puts you in direct contact with the police.
- 080 – puts you in direct contact with the fire service.
If you need assistance from the UK Government while you are on holiday on the Costa Del Sol, the closest British Embassy or Consulate Services is located in Malaga, and can be contacted on +34 952 35 23 00.
Medical Care In Spain And Costa Del Sol
If you are injured in an accident while you are on holiday on the Costa Del Sol, gaining access to the emergency medical treatment you need is quite simple. Spain is a member of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme. This is a reciprocal healthcare agreement between most European countries. However, if you intend to use your EHIC card to get treatment on the Costa Del Sol, you need to consider the following:
- You must present your EHIC to get free treatment.
- EHIC only covers emergency treatment and standard medical procedures.
- EHIC does not cover extended outpatient care, dental treatment, etc.
- Some treatments or surgical procedure are not covered by EHIC, and you would need to pay for these.
If you don’t have a valid EHIC on your when you attend the hospital, you will need to pay your medical costs yourself. Legal Expert should be able to help you claim this back when we process your holiday accident claim. Call us on the number at the end of this page to find out how.
Time Limits For Accident Claims In Spain
There is a time limit to claim compensation for holiday accidents in Spain, and these are detailed in the table below:
| Claim Type | Time Limit |
|---|---|
| Personal injury | 1-year from the date of the accident |
| Personal injury (extension) | 1 additional year from the date of the accident, renewable every year until the claim is settled. |
If you are reaching the end of your claim time limit, or need to apply for the limit to be extended, contact Legal Expert on the number at the end of this page, so that we can assist you.
Package Holiday Injury Compensation Cases
If you need to make a personal injury claim in Spain, for an accident that occurred while you were on a package holiday, the process of making a claim is slightly different. Package holidays are those whereby the transport and accommodation are included in a single price. Typical package holiday vendors in the UK include:
- TUI
- On The Beach
- Thomas Cook
- Jet Holidays
- British Airways
- Love Holidays
- Sunshine
- First Choice
- Easyjet
- Mercury Holidays
- Saga
- Solos Holidays
The claim will be made against the travel company that sold you your package holiday. This is due to the fact that under UK legislation that came into effect in 1992, all UK package holiday firms must ensure a minim level of safety on the holidays they sell. If the company fails to fulfil this legal obligation, a route to making a claim will exist. Legal Expert can assist with this, using our claims service, we can process a claim against your travel vendor for you. Call us on the number at the end of this page to find out how.
You Have Had An Accident On Holiday, What Claims Can We Handle?
Legal Expert can act as holiday claims solicitors for a very wide range of different accidents. No matter how your injuries were caused, as long as it can be proven that a third party is liable, we can process a claim for you.
Some types of claims are more common than others, and we have covered each of these frequently seen claims in their own section below. If the accident you were injured in does not fit into any of these categories, we can still assist you. Talk to one of our team on the number at the end of this guide to find out how.
Injury Or Illness At A Costa Del Sol Hotel
If you have been injured in an accident at your hotel on the Costa Del Sol, then as long as the hotel operator was to blame for the accident, you should be able to make a claim. The exception to this, is if the cost of your hotel was included in a package holiday. In this case, Legal Expert would claim against the travel firm that sold you the holiday. A hotel that is badly managed, or badly maintained, can present a number of hazards, including:
- Damaged flooring, such as frayed carpet or cracked floor tiles, presenting a trip hazard.
- Dirty or wet floors, for example, in the hotel restaurant or close to the pool area, presenting a slip hazard.
- Risk of electrocution due to faulty room fitting such as a light switch, plug socket or lamp.
- Risk of injury by using badly maintained equipment in the hotel gym. Or using the hotel gym when there is no qualified instructor on site to keep you safe.
- Food-related illnesses such as food poisoning, caused by food on the breakfast buffet table being left out for too long.
These are just some of the ways that accidents can happen in a hotel. Call Legal Expert on the number at the end of this page and explain how your hotel accident happened, we should be able to help you.
Costa Del Sol Holiday Illness Compensation Claims
If you come down with an illness while on holiday, which was caused by something on your holiday, such as bad food, you will have reason to claim holiday sickness compensation. Some of the most common illnesses suffered by visitors to the Costa Del Sol include:
- Salmonella – this is caused by eating undercooked food, primarily chicken, eggs, and other dairy products.
- Dysentery & Shigella – a bacterial infection that can be transmitted in many ways, it can be very serious, even life-threatening.
- Campylobacter – contracted in the same way as Salmonella, although far less common.
- Cryptosporidium – a waterborne infection, that is transmitted by coming into contact with infected faecal matter.
- coli – a very severe form of food poisoning that can be contracted by eating infected food.
- Giardiasis/Giardia Lamblia – another form of food-poisoning, more common with holidaymakers who are enjoying wilderness holidays such as camping and trekking.
If you have contracted any of these illnesses while you are on holiday on the Costa Del Sol, call Legal Expert on the number at the end of this page, so we can get your claims started.
Slip And Fall Claims
Of all the holiday accident claims we process here at Legal Expert, slips, trips and falls are by far the most common of all. These accidents can happen at any time, and in any place. For most people, a slight fall is shrugged off without any injury at all. For the elderly, they can be very dangerous, due to the effects of osteoporosis in older people. Slips, trips and falls can happen in many ways, such as:
- The small, winding cobbled streets found in parts of the Costa Del Sol can present a danger of a trip or fall.
- Badly maintained hotel floors, such as torn carpets or damaged floorboards.
- Wet or dirty floors in the hotel dining room.
- Stairwells that are badly lit, or don’t have sufficient safety rails.
No matter how you suffered your slip, trip or fall in Spain, Legal Expert can help you to claim for it. Call us on the number down at the end of this guide to start your claim today.
Costa Del Sol Balcony Accidents
At the start of 2018, there were 11 deaths in Spain related to a balcony accident. Several of these incidents occurred in suspicious circumstances. Although primarily they involved people who had been drinking heavily, the safety of the balconies causing these accidents was also called into question in several cases.
Badly maintained balconies were to blame in some cases. Such as the handrail becoming loose, or so corroded that it broke off. Additionally, the balcony itself can come away from the hotel wall, falling to the ground.
If you are injured in a Costa Del Sol balcony accident, and the balcony was in some state of disrepair, then Legal Expert can help you claim. Call us today on the number at the end of this page to find out how.
Costa Del Sol Car Crash And Road Traffic Accident Claims
Costa Del Sol holiday accident statistics
There was a time, around a decade ago, when the coastal road that runs through the Costa Del Sol was notoriously dangerous. But as can be seen from the graph above, the level of road safety in this area has improved steadily since 2006. With far less road traffic accidents in the Costa Del Sol taking place now that 12 years ago.
However, accidents do still happen on Spain’s roads. And if you are involved in a car crash in the Costa Del Sol while on holiday, Legal Expert should be able to assist you in claiming. Give us a call on the number at the end of this guide to learn how.
Can UK Solicitors Or Lawyers Conduct My Claim
Yes, it makes perfect sense for you to use a UK based legal firm to process your holiday accident claim. This is much easier than dealing with a foreign solicitor, and you should also be able to arrange to have your claim processed under a No Win No Fee agreement.
Here at Legal Expert, our claims service is the perfect way for you to make a holiday accident claim for injuries you received on holiday on the Costa Del Sol. Call us on the number below, so that we can help you today.
No Win No Fee Holiday Accident Claims In The Costa Del Sol
Legal Expert can act as your No Win No Fee solicitor, to process a holiday accident claim for you. Our claims service operates under a comprehensive Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). You really do pay nothing unless you win a compensation settlement.
There is no charge when we take your claim on, and no charge as we process it. If we fail to win you any compensation at all, we still charge nothing. If we do win a compensation payment for you though, we will take our fee out of the money we receive, and pass the rest to you.
Popular Resort, Towns And Cities In Costa Del Sol
- Marbella
- Malaga
- Benalmadena
- Torremolinos
- Fuengirola
- Nerja
- Estepona
- Mijas
- Torrox
- Benahavis
- Manilva
- Casares
Start Your Claim
We you injured in an accident while you were on holiday on the Costa Del Sol? Do you believe that you have a reason to make a holiday compensation claim? If so, call Legal Expert on 0800 073 8804 right now. One of our team will explain our claims service to you, and talk you through our new claims process so that we can start on your claim today.
Useful Links
British Consulate Malaga
Calle Mauricio Moro Pareto 2
Edificio Eurocom
29006 Málaga
Spain
Tel: +34 952 35 23 00
Web: www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-consulate-malaga
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
The UK Government has published detail travel and health advice for Spain at this link:
At the link below, you will find a guide to claiming compensation for an accident on holiday in Spain:
A guide to Spain holiday accident claims
At the link below, you will find a guide to claiming compensation for an accident in a swimming pool while on holiday.
