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Slovakia Accident Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation For A Personal Injury Claim In Slovakia

On this page, you will find a full guide to the legal process of making holiday accident claims in Slovakia. Within it, you will learn about the steps that your personal injury lawyer will follow, as they process a claim on your behalf. It covers everything from how to contact the emergency services and get emergency medical treatment in Slovakia, through to details of some of the most common types of accidents incurred.

Instead of reading this guide in its entirety, feel free to skip it and read only the parts that pertain to your claim. You can then call Legal Expert on 0800 073 8804, and one of our team will talk you through our new claims process.

Select a Section:

A Guide To Slovakian Holiday Compensation Claims

Slovakia holiday accident claims

Slovakia holiday accident claims

If you have been injured on holiday in Slovakia, then this guide should be of use to you. It covers everything you need to know, before engaging a personal injury lawyer to process a claim for you. Below, you will find information such as:

  • A list of important areas which need to be considered when making a claim to maximise your chances of winning a claim.
  • A list of all of the main emergency contact numbers, and information on how to contact all of the emergency services while you are in Slovakia.
  • An overview of how British citizens can go about arranging for emergency health care and treatment if they need it while on holiday in Slovakia.
  • A table that details all of the personal injury time limits that apply to making a claim for accidents in Slovakia.
  • An explanation of why the process of making a claim for an accident that happened on a package holiday, is different from making a claim for accidents on self-booked trips.
  • An overview of the types of holiday claims that Legal Expert can process, and a basic introduction to the way we process claims.
  • Information about making a compensation claim for injuries sustained in a hotel accident in Slovakia.
  • Information regarding claiming for illnesses such as food poisoning, contracted while you are on holiday in Slovakia.
  • Information on the process of making a claim for injuries caused by slip, trip and fall accidents while overseas.
  • Details of the process of making a claim for accidents that happen while taking part in activities and excursions on holiday in Slovakia.
  • Info on road traffic accidents in Slovakia, and how we can help victims of these accidents claim compensation for their injuries.
  • An introduce to Legal Expert, and the national claims service we operate. A perfect way for victims of an accident on holiday in Slovakia to make a claim for compensation.

You might have some unanswered questions when you have finished going over this guide. If you do, then one of our team will answer them for you, if you call us on the number at the bottom of this page.

I Was Injured Or Became Sick On Holiday In Slovakia, What Should I Do?

If you intend to make personal injury compensation claims for injuries you have sustained in an accident while in Slovakia, this section will cover some steps you can take to maximise your chances of winning such a claim. Some of these steps need to be taken while you are in Slovakia, and others need to be taken when you get back to the UK. These steps include:

Take These Steps In Slovakia To Maximise Your Chance Of Winning Your Claim

  • If appropriate, involve the police. For example, if you have been injured in a road traffic accident. Report the accident yourself if the police don’t turn up at the scene of the accident.
  • Gather witness information, including name, address and possibly email address. This is so your solicitor can contact them if they need to.
  • Gather photographic or video evidence to support your claim. As an example, if you have injured yourself on a broken mirror in your hotel room, photograph it.
  • If you booked a package tour through a company that is registered in the UK, then call the travel company and let them know you have been in an accident.
  • If you have medical or travel insurance, and you are going to use it to pay for private medical treatment, call your insurance firm and tell them to expect correspondents.
  • Visit the hospital in Slovakia, and have your injuries treated by a medical professional.

Take These Steps Back In The UK To Maximise Your Chance Of Winning Your Claim

  • If you have claimed on your medical or travel insurance for medical treatment in Slovakia, call your insurance firm and tell them you are back in the UK.
  • Visit the hospital and have a doctor check that your injuries are healing well, and that the treatment you were given in Slovakia was OK.
  • Contact Legal Expert on the telephone number at the end of this page, so that we can arrange to process a holiday accident claim for you.

If you would like to read some additional information covering holiday accident claims, we have published these two guides, which may be of some help to you:

A guide to compensation claims for package holiday accidents

A guide to compensation claims for overseas injuries

Emergency Services Contact Information For Slovakia

There are a number of emergency numbers you will may find useful to remember while you are on holiday in Slovakia. Each is used to contact a different emergency service, and one of them attempts to unify all of the emergency services. These numbers are:

  • 112 – this is the new, unified emergency service number. When you call it, an operator will dispatch the relevant emergency services based on your situation.
  • 150 – is to contact the fire and rescue service.
  • 155 – is to contact an ambulance and emergency medical service.
  • 158 – is to contact the local police.

Around 70% of all emergency calls in Slovakia are now made using the 112 number, the unified number. This should be the only emergency number you may need while on holiday in Slovakia, but it is worth knowing the others just in case.

Health Care And Clinical Services In Slovakia

If you are injured in an accident while on holiday in Slovakia, then gaining access to medical treatment is very simple. Slovakia is a member of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme. As long as you have a valid EHIC card, then you will receive medical treatment to the same level as if you were a local resident.

The EHIC card doesn’t cover all types of treatment, only emergency treatment and standard procedures. For example, you would not be able to use your EHIC card to get a course of dental treatment for free, or to get outpatient treatment. You must have your EHIC card on you to receive treatment, so make sure that you carry it at all times while you are in Slovakia.

Slovakian Personal Injury Claim Time Limits

If you want to make a holiday accident claim for an injury caused by an accident while you were on holiday in Slovakia, the claim needs to be made within a specific time limit. The table below shows what this time limit is:

Edit
Claim Type Time Limit
Holidays and excursions that were privately booked. 3-years from the date the accident took place (this may vary)
Package holidays booked through a UK tour operator in the UK (this may also include transport) 3 years

If you are reaching the end of this time limit, then Legal Expert can expedite your Slovakia accident claim. Call us on the number at the bottom of this guide to find out how we can do this.

Slovakian Package Holiday Personal Injury Claims

If you booked a package holiday to Slovakia, through one of the large UK based holiday companies, then the legal process of making a claim is a little different. In this situation, your solicitor will claim against the travel firm, not the offending enterprise in Slovakia. For example, if you were to be injured in the hotel included in your package deal, you won’t make a claim against the hotel, you will make it against the company that arranged your package holiday in the UK.

Prior to 1992, budget travel vendors were not regulated in any way. This meant they did not have to ensure that transport and accommodation included in a package deal, met minimum standards. In the 80s, at the height of the package holiday trend, there were stories in the news almost every week about families that had been provided with terrible accommodation and, sometimes, unsafe accommodation. In 1992 things changed for the better, and Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 came in to play. This legislation protects UK consumers and ensures travel companies provide a minimum standard.

If you are injured in an accident on holiday due to the travel firm failing to maintain these minimum standards, then Legal Expert should be able to help you make a compensation claim. Call us on the number at the bottom of this page, and we can explain how.

Slovakian Holiday Accident Claims Legal Expert Handles

Legal Expert can tackle just about any type of holiday accident claims. From simple slips, trips and falls, through to complex claims involving fatalities. However, we see the same types of claims made time and time again. We have covered some of these more frequently seen types of claims below in their own sections.

If your accident does not fit into any of these sections, don’t worry, we can still help you to claim accident abroad compensation. Give us a call on the number at the end of this page, explain how your accident happened, and we will give you some advice on what to do next.

Slovakian Hotel Accident Claims

A hotel can present numerous health and safety hazards. Especially if it is badly managed or improperly maintained. Injuries caused by hotel accidents can range from simple sprains due to a fall, through to death due to CO2 poisoning. Some of the more obvious ways a person can be injured in a hotel in Slovakia include:

  • Contracting food-related illness due to bad hygiene in the hotel restaurant.
  • CO2 poisoning caused by blocked ventilation in hotel rooms.
  • Injuries caused by improperly maintained equipment in the hotel gym.
  • Drowning in the hotel pool, due to no qualified lifeguard being on duty.
  • Slipping on wet floors close to the pool area, that should have been dried.
  • Electrocution caused by faulty room fittings such as light switches and lamps.

These are just some of the ways you can be injured in a hotel room; there are many more. Legal Expert should be able to help you claim if you were injured in a hotel in Slovakia.

Water Borne Illness And Food Poisoning Illness Claims In Slovakia

Food poisoning in Slovakia, as well as other food and drink borne illness, are common complaints suffered by UK holidaymakers. Slovakia food and water safety are very good. The problem is that these illnesses are so easily contracted due to the fact that often, holidaymakers do not have a natural immunity to the foreign strains of bacteria causing them. Budget accommodation, which often provides buffet-style meals, can be a real risk to people on holiday.

The symptoms of food poisoning include fever, joint pain, stomach cramps, nausea, and fatigue. A serious case can require hospitalisation. Food can go bad for many reasons, such as being undercooked, stored at the wrong temperature, being reheated, or left on the buffet table for too long.

If you came down with a case of food poisoning while on holiday in Slovakia, then Legal Expert may be able to help you claim compensation for it. Call us on the number at the end of this guide to find out how.

Tripping And Falling Holiday Injury Claims

Slips, trips and falls are the most common type of accidents in the world. So, it should come as no surprise to find they are also the most common reason for holidaymakers to make a compensation claim. It takes very little to trip a person over, or make them slip, such as:

  • Food or liquid spilt on the floor, which should have been cleaned up.
  • Damaged floor coverings such as warped wooden floors, and torn or frayed carpeting.
  • Broken, cracked or wrongly laid paving slabs and curbstones in parking areas.
  • Potholes or missing paving slabs causing a hazard on public pathways.
  • Pavements blocked by street vendors.

These are just some of the things that can cause a slip, trip or fall while you are on holiday, there are many more. Legal Expert should be able to help you claim if you were injured in a slip, trip or fall while on holiday in Slovakia.

Holiday Activity And Excursion Claims For Slovakia

Tourism in Slovakia has grown at an exponential rate in recent years. Much of this growth is due to the extremely affordable nature of the country, and the fact it offers so many great activities, primarily the world-class water sports.

When making a holiday claim, loss of enjoyment is often factored in as part of the damages. Booking an excursion or adventure activity might lead to injuries that could ruin the rest of your holiday.

Unfortunately, not every company offering excursions or adventure activities in Slovakia, keeps safety at the forefront of their service offering. As with any emerging travel destination, health and safety legislation and monitoring are lagging behind the growth in tourism. Therefore, it is vital that you book any adventure activities or excursions in Slovakia through a reputable company.

If you are injured while involved in water sports or some other adventure activity, or while on an excursion in Slovakia, Legal Expert should be able to help you claim compensation.

Road Traffic Accidents And Car Crash Claims In Slovakia

Slovakia road accident statistics

Slovakia road accident statistics

Since 2009, the Government in Slovakia has made an effort to lower the number of road traffic accidents in the country. If you look at the graph above, which shows the number of fatal road accidents for each year between 2009 and 2016, you will see this campaign has been very effective. Road traffic safety in Slovakia is now on par with most other European countries. You are no more likely to be involved in a road traffic accident in Slovakia than you would in France or Germany.

Therefore, Slovakia is a fairly safe place for UK holidaymakers to drive. That being said, of course, accidents can and do happen. The emergency services in Slovakia have also been upgraded in recent years. This means that for motorists on holiday who are involved in a vehicle collision, response times of the emergency services are far improved over the 2009 performance.

If you are unfortunate, and become the victim of a car accident in Slovakia, Legal Expert should be able to help you to make a compensation claim. Please call us on the number at the bottom of this page to find out more.

Do I Need To Use A Slovakian Solicitor Or Lawyer?

If you have been involved in an accident abroad solicitors in the UK can process your compensation claim for you. You don’t need to use a solicitor in Slovakia to make a claim for a holiday accident in Slovakia. A UK solicitor may be a far better choice. Easier to communicate with, and easier to understand.

Legal Expert is a UK solicitor with plenty of experience in making overseas claims for UK holidaymakers who have been injured on holiday. Give us a call on the number at the end of this page to find out how we can help you.

No Win No Fee Slovakian Holiday Accident Solicitors Claims

If you have been injured in an accident while you were on holiday in Slovakia, Legal Expert can act as your personal injury solicitor, under a No Win No Fee agreement. What this means, is that you pay nothing when we take your claim on, and nothing while we process your claim. If we fail to win you any compensation, you pay nothing at all. When we do win compensation for you, we will take our fee from the money received, and then give the rest to you.

These Are The Most Visited Cities For Tourism Purposes In Slovakia

  • Bratislava
  • Košice
  • Prešov
  • Žilina
  • Banská Bystrica
  • Nitra
  • Trnava
  • Trenčín
  • Martin
  • Poprad
  • Prievidza
  • Zvolen
  • Považská Bystrica
  • Nové Zámky
  • Michalovce
  • Spišská Nová Ves

How To Make A Slovakian Holiday Accident Claim

If you need some accident abroad claims advice, or are ready to make a claim for a holiday accident in Slovakia, then call Legal Expert today on 0800 073 8804. When you do, one of our team will be waiting to talk you through our claims process, and we can get started on your claim straight away.

Useful Links

British Consular Services In Slovakia

Panská 235/16

811 01 Bratislava

Slovakia

Tel: +421 2/599 820 00

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

The UK Government has issued travel information regarding Slovakia at this link:

UK Government Slovakia travel info

At the link below, you will find a guide to making a compensation claim for a head injury:

A guide to claiming for head injuries

At the link below, you will find a guide to making a compensation claim for a neck injury:

A guide to claiming for neck injuries

Edited be Melissa.