How much compensation can I claim for injury in Magaluf?
Huge numbers of Brits flock to Magaluf every year in summer season in order to try and escape the British summer rain and get some much-needed sun and fun. However you feel about Magaluf, or whatever you have read about the resort, there’s no denying it is a tempting prospect, with prices relatively cheap and flights that are only a short time longer than a trip to the British seaside. While most trips to Magaluf, lead to problems that are only as minor as a touch of sunburn or a bad hangover, there are problems that can happen in Magaluf that cause injury or illness that are due to the fault of someone else. If you are unfortunate enough to be caught up in a situation like this, and you are ill or suffer injury abroad, what to do can be unclear. You might be one of the people who make the decision to pursue holiday accident claims in Magaluf in order for them to be compensated for their loss, both financial, physical and emotional.
In the guide below, we attempt to bring you answers to any question you may have about holiday accident claims in Magaluf, including taking you through how to report when something has happened to you, what sort of things may lead to holiday accident claims in Magaluf, and how to find a solicitor to help you pursue a case for compensation. This easy to navigate guide can direct you to the information you need quickly, simply click on one of the sections below to get started or read our guide in full – the choice is yours. While this guide deals specifically with Magaluf, we do offer information within our site relevant to other Spanish and Balearic destinations.
Select A Section
- A Guide to Accident Claims in Magaluf
- What to do if you have an accident or injury in Magaluf
- Emergency contacts in Magaluf after an accident
- Healthcare and medical treatment after an accident
- Compensation claim time limits in Spain
- Compensation for package holiday problems
- Personal injury claims we can help with
- Hotel accident and illness claims
- Restaurant illness, accident or food poisoning claims
- Slips, trips and falls from a balcony in Magaluf
- Water sports and activity claims
- Road traffic and car accidents in Magaluf
- Do I need to use a solicitor in Magaluf?
- No win no fee solicitors for holiday claims
- Start your claim
- Useful links
A Guide to Accident Claims in Magaluf
According to the Office of National Statistics, in 2016 there were almost 15 million visits by UK residents to Spain. Eighty eight percent of these were for holidays. This makes Spain the most commonly visited place by UK tourists. Whether you are on a stag or hen do, visiting Magaluf with family or loved ones, or you’ve taken a trip by yourself, there is plenty to do in this bustling resort. Magaluf’s most popular beach, the Playa de Magaluf tempts holidaymakers with soft white sand and clear waters, while the clubs on the strip offer superb entertainment including world-famous DJs. Whatever your reason for visiting Magaluf, you’d expect to do so safely and without incident. However, many Brits suffer injury and illness at this beautiful resort leading to pretty horrific reading of holiday accident statistics. While some of these incidences are due to bad behaviour – we have all read the headlines – or too much sun and alcohol, others are because someone has acted in a negligent or dangerous manner and if this has happened to you or anyone you’ve travelled with, you will know only too well what a trauma this can cause. This is when accident claims in Magaluf occur. Whatever the injury, or the long-standing consequences, if you have been hurt or encountered an injury or injuries in Magaluf because of someone else, then we can help guide to as to what to do next with holiday compensation claims.
What to do if you have an accident or injury in Magaluf
Should you have an instance in Magaluf where you are injured or suffer an illness, then there are a variety of things you will need to do to ensure you have handled the incident appropriately.
First of all, you should ensure if required, the emergency services are notified of the event, particularly in the case of a motor vehicle accident, or are fire. In terms of getting medical attention, this should be done as soon as possible also, and you should certainly make sure that you keep a copy of all documentation pertaining to the incident. While at the scene of the accident, you, or someone with you, should take photographs of what has happened, including pictures of your injuries, as well as the scene, and take down contact information for any person/s who have witnessed what has happened. You should also report the incident to your travel operators, and your insurance provider as quickly as you can. You will be able to find the numbers for doing so on your holiday paperwork that was issued to you.
Emergency contacts in Magaluf after an accident
In order that you know the correct numbers to ring should you have been involved in an accident that requires emergency services, we have provided a handy list below.
Ambulance – 112
Police/ Civil Guard – 112 or 062
Fire Department – 112
The British Consultate Emergency Number – to call if you’re in Magaluf and require assistance urgently (e.g. If you have been arrested, attached or someone you’re with has died) + 34 952 35 23 00
Steps to take if you’ve been injured or fallen ill abroad – a handy list
- Report to the emergency services if required
- Get medical help
- Report to your tour operator/travel insurer
- Gather evidence
- Contact Legal Expert
Healthcare and medical treatment after an accident
When looking to travel to Magaluf, it is essential that you not only have the relevant travel insurance, including cover for extreme sports you might do, and cover for any pre-existing medical conditions, but you should also ensure you have an EHIC. The EHIC allows people within Europe to obtain state healthcare when they need it. You can apply for it online, and there is a smartphone app you can also download in order to effectively ‘carry it on you’. It should allow you to obtain free healthcare treatments for up to three months. It is best you ensure that if have need to contact a doctor, that you explain you are under an EHIC, in order that you do not have to claim on your travel insurance. However, sometimes hotels will send private ambulances for tourists injured on their premises or contact private doctors. This is why you also will need travel insurance. You can read more about healthcare provisions in Magaluf here.
Compensation claim time limits in Spain
There are a variety of specific circumstances that relate to how long you have to claim after an accident in Magaluf, and within this table are the general guidelines.
Whereabouts of illness or injury | How long to claim |
---|---|
For instances on flights (from or to the destination) pre-booked activities or excursions, or in hotels booked through UK package tour companies. | Three Years |
Occurrences on privately booked (not UK tour operator) trips. | In most cases, 1 year but other limitations may apply. Call for more detail. |
Illness and/ or injury on privately booked air transport from or to airports that serve international destinations. | Two Years |
Should you be unsure as to whether other factors may come into play such as the age of the person involved, then you don’t have to wait to find out. Simply call our experts, who will explain what is and what is not relevant.
Compensation for package holiday problems
As part of the 1992 regulations covering package holidays, tours and travel, as a holidaymaker, if you have booked excursions, hotel and travel through a UK based tour operator as part of a package of two or more of the abovementioned items, you will be covered should you fall ill or be injured while abroad. You should contact your tour operator as soon as you can after the incident, and to save you sifting through paperwork, we have listed the major firms below.
- First Choice
- Thomas Cook.
- Thomson/ TUI.
- EasyJet.
- Monarch Holidays.
- Jet2 Holidays.
Don’t forget to call us to help with compensation for package holiday problems, as we can offer advice on any tour operator you might have used.
Personal injury claims we can help with
We can assist with claims concerning no end of issues that have happened on your trip to Magaluf. Some of the more common incidences are listed here, but there are a whole number of types of accident and illness we can and have helped with, so if your specific situation is not in the list, don’t hesitate to call us and talk it through.
- Airplane – Slips, trips, burns from hot drinks, falling baggage, plane collisions or crashes
- Bad hotel hygiene illness – These can be particularly unpleasant, causing vomiting and cramps
- Balcony falls – fall from balcony in Magaluf through unsecured balconies or poor materials used for the build
- Boats & cruises – illness from food services, slips and falls aboard or overboard leading to holiday illness compensation Majorca
- Carbon monoxide poisoning – from poorly maintained gas supplies
- Collapsing furniture – unfit for purpose
- Excursion injuries – such as slips and falls as well as trips
- Faulty fittings – causing electric shocks or other injuries
- Faulty rental car – causing car accidents, or fire
- Food poisoning – from poor hygiene in restaurants
- Foreign transport – lack of proper protection, poor driving leading to accident
- Hotel – swimming pool incidents, slips and falls, poorly maintained equipment
- Legionnaires disease / Norovirus – from hotel restaurants
- Water sports – faulty equipment, lack of proper instruction
- Slips and trips – anywhere on your package holiday’s booked travel, or in the hotel, or on excursions
- Swimming pool Accident – including cuts, drowning, and more
Hotel accident and illness claims
There are many parts of a hotel that can pose risks to holidaymakers in Magaluf, and here will list some of the most common events that we can help you with when it comes to Balearic islands holiday compensation claims:
- Food poisoning from hotel bar or restaurant
- Poorly maintained gym equipment causing injury
- Poorly maintained furniture/equipment in rooms leading to injury or electrocution
- Poorly maintained balconies that have unsafe barriers
- Swimming pools improperly maintained with loose tiles leading to slips or trips
- Improper supervision leading to drowning
- Poorly marked depths leading to diving injuries
- Trips, slips or falls anywhere on the premises due to poor marking of steps, poorly fitted doormats, poorly maintained stairs or trip hazards being left in the way.
There are a huge number more incidents that can be acted upon, and if your specific circumstances are not listed here, then do feel free to talk us through your story so that we can ascertain the validity of your claim.
Restaurant illness, accident or food poisoning claims
When it comes to the standard of food provision in Magaluf, for the most part it is sanitary, and you can expect to return home without having experienced any symptoms of illness. You may get to taste exciting new dishes and some of them may not quite agree with you, but if you are unlucky, if the food has not been prepared hygienically, then you are likely to be able to make a claim for compensation. Some situations leading to food poisoning in Magaluf and holiday illness compensation in Majorca can include:
- Lack of clean food serving areas
- Unclean dining areas
- Lack of clean food preparation areas
- Animals and insect contamination at buffets or in kitchens
- Unsafe temperature of buffets
- Service of undercooked or even raw meat
- Raw and cooked meat cross contamination
If something like this has happened to you, it could leave you not only with the inability to enjoy the rest of your holiday, but also with long term effects including Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Call us today to find out what to do if this is the case.
Slips, trips and falls from a balcony in Magaluf
Some of the most common injury claims in Magaluf involve slipping, tripping or falling. Whether you have been injured while boarding your aircraft or coach for transfer, tripped over a trailing wire in your room, or fallen due to poorly marked steps in the hotel, then you could possibly make a claim for compensation. While most claims involve fairly minor injuries, such as sprains, strains simple fractures and concussions, some are far more serious than this.
Some of the most serious, and even fatal injuries involve falling from height. It has been widely reported that various incidences of falls from Magaluf balcony are due to the injured party’s dangerous behaviour, but it has been known for balconies to fail, leading to falls costing the victims their life.
Should you have suffered a fall from a balcony in Magaluf that was NOT your fault, then you should get in touch with us as soon as you can, so we can assist with your compensation claim for this disastrous incident.
Water sports and activity claims
There are a large variety of water sports available to try in Magaluf, and while thrill seeking carries its own risks, these should be minimised by all involved. The rules regarding water sports involving fast moving vehicles such as jet skis offered on the Spanish costs are as follows:
- Jet ski engines should be below 55hp
- Remote control cut-outs should be fitted
- Users should be instructed on how to operate them
- Exclusion zones 200m from coastlines should be observed, unless CLEARLY marked
Should these rules not be followed, or the equipment you have been rented not be fit for use, then it may be the case that we can help you with a claim. Contact us to go through what’s happened to you and we’ll be sure to listen and give solid advice on whether you have a claim.
There are, of course, other activities that you can partake in while in Malaga, such as train running, off road biking or even hiking. If these are part of excursions pre-booked through your tour operator, and you are injured due to the negligent or dangerous behaviour of others, then you’ll likely have a compensation claim that goes the distance.
Road traffic and car accidents in Magaluf
Whether you’re renting a car to travel around or you’re relying on coaches or taxis, the fact is, just like in the UK, there are risks on the roads. While the number of fatalities for road traffic accidents in Spain has been dropping steadily over the last few years, from 4104 in 2006 to 1689 in 2015, there are still a large number of people injured on the roads. Statistics produced for 2016 show that over 5000 people were injured on Spanish roads within the year.
Should you be involved in a road accident in Magaluf, then the actions you need to take are very similar as they are in the UK, aside from some extras. Initially, you will likely need to call the emergency services, no matter whose fault the accident was, as they will need to make the scene of the accident safe, as well as ensuring medical attention is given to those that need it. It is likely that you will need to fill out a report for the Spanish police as well. Make sure to take down as many details as is possible for your own records and take photos if you can do. After that, you should make sure to inform your travel insurer as well as tour operator if you booked through one, and if required, your car insurance if you were the one driving.
The types of accidents abroad for international personal injury claims you may encounter on British roads are very similar to Spanish ones, and whether you have suffered injury due to a head on collision, have been a passenger in a taxi collision, or a coach collision, or been knocked down as a pedestrian, then you may have a claim. Riders of mopeds, motorcycles and other smaller vehicles may also have a claim should the other person/s involved be at fault.
Do I need to use a solicitor in Magaluf?
It is common for people suffering injury & illness in Majorca Menorca and Ibiza to be under the misconception that only a foreign solicitor can handle cases such as theirs. In fact, this is one of the most common queries we receive. You will more than likely be happy to know that in fact, you do not have to use a Spanish solicitor should you wish not to. In addition, you may be even happier to learn that Legal Expert, with years of experience in the industry, can provide you with a solicitor covering your area that can handle your Magaluf holiday accident claim.
No win no fee solicitors for holiday claims
Serious injuries and illnesses have a profound effect on earning power, and it is likely that you will have had to have at least some time away from your place of work while you have been seeking treatment or recovering from what has happened to you. This may put you in a financial predicament. The last thing you want at this point is more bills, but you may be interested to hear that you would not have to fund your claim upfront for Menorca, Ibiza, Majorca holiday illness/injury claims, as under No Win No Fee arrangements, a proportion of your compensation will go towards legal bills and only if you win will you be required to pay this from your compensation. Unsuccessful cases will not leave you with legal bills, so there really isn’t a reason to be put off claiming.
If you require more information on the percentage of fees taken in the average no win no fee solicitors claims case or would like to know more about how the system works, then we can happily offer any answers you’re seeking. Simply give us a call.
Start your claim
Beginning a claim for compensation after something has happened to you in Magaluf might sound complicated. However, with Legal Expert on your side, this will certainly not be the case. With extensive experience in helping holidaymakers just like you with cases ranging from holiday illnesses, to injuries ranging from minor to serious, and even fatal, we offer a sympathetic ear along with knowledge and advice that you are sure to be able to count on. You can contact us to begin a claim by way of the following:
Complete the holiday compensation claim form here
Email info@legalexpert.co.uk
Call 0800 073 8804
Whichever way you would prefer to get in touch with us, we will always aim to help you efficiently and quickly, and with the understanding and knowledge of situations like yours that you would struggle to find with anyone else.
Useful links
British Consulate Palma de Mallorca
Carrer Convent dels Caputxins, 4
Edificio Orisba B 4ºD
07002 Palma de Mallorca
Spain
Tel: +34 93 366 6200
This page should assist if you’ve cause to access healthcare while in Magaluf.