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How Much Compensation Can I Claim For An Injury In Turkey?

When we plan to go on holiday, we don’t imagine that we might be unfortunate enough to be the victim of an accident or injury, or that we might become sick while we are on vacation. In most cases, when we go on holiday, everything goes as planned. Yet unfortunately, there is always an exception to the rule, and thousands of UK holidaymakers each year have to deal with some form of personal catastrophe instead of relaxing in their chosen holiday destination.

On this page, you will find plenty of information and advice on how to make holiday accident claims in Turkey, and how to claim for a range of vacation-related accidents and injuries using the Legal Expert No Win No Fee holiday claims service.

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A Guide to Claims for Accident or Illness in Turkey

In this Turkey holiday compensation guide, you will learn the answer to questions such as, how much can I claim for an injury or illness in Turkey? and more.

Over 1.7 million UK tourists visit destinations in Turkey every year for their annual holiday. For most of these, their holiday was a rejuvenating experience, and they returned home safely. Unfortunately, for a small percentage of these holidaymakers, things did not go as smoothly, and they were the unlucky victims of an accident or injury or became ill whilst they were visiting Turkey. This page covers the kinds of incidents that these people fell victim to, with the most common being:

  • Road traffic accidents – either whilst driving their own vehicle, or as a passenger in a vehicle operated by a tour company or public transport.
  • Slips, trips and falls – caused by badly maintained thoroughfares, or improperly maintained public access to hotels, shops, restaurants etc.
  • Sporting accidents – through using badly maintained sporting equipment or taking part in sporting activities that are inadequately supervised.
  • Food-related illnesses – such as food poisoning and more serious medical conditions caused by badly prepared food and drink.
  • Accidents in a hotel – where the operator of the hotel has put the residents at risk in some way.

These are the main categories that holiday accidents and emergencies in Turkey tend to fall into. There are more of course, so if your own scenario doesn’t fit within this list, then please call us today to discuss your specific case. Our contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.

What to Do If You Have an Injury or Accident in Turkey

If you are on holiday and are unfortunate enough to be the victim of an accident in Turkey, or have become ill due to the actions of your tour company, or one of the hospitality providers associated with your holiday (such as your hotel or your tour bus operator), then you may have a valid reason to claim compensation.

Holiday accident in TurkeyIn order to have the best chance of winning a claim when you get home to the UK, and to have the best chance of being awarded the maximum amount of compensation possible, there are a number of steps you should take after the incident has occurred. There are things you can do while you are still on holiday in Turkey, and things you can do to follow up when you get home to the UK after your holiday in Turkey is over.

Things you can do while you are still on holiday in Turkey:

  • Make sure you get the correct medical treatment for your injury or illness. Ask the hospital or clinic for the case reference number or ID and also write down the names of the doctors that treated you.
  • Contact your tour operator or package holiday vendor and report the incident. Once again, write down the name of the person you deal with, and ask for any unique case ID or reference number.
  • If you have travel or medical insurance, then you should contact your insurer immediately and make sure they know that you have been involved in an incident that could result in an insurance claim. As above, note the name of the person you dealt with and any unique incident number.
  • If the police in Turkey were involved, get the names of the officers who were involved, and also the unique case ID.
  • Gather the names and contact details of any witnesses, even if they are Turkish nationals, as their testimony may be needed at a later date.
  • Take photographs of the scene of the accident, or any other pertinent facts. For example, if you are involved in a road traffic accident, to photographs of the registration numbers of all the vehicles involved.

Things you can do when you return to the UK after your holiday in Turkey:

  • Visit your doctor or the hospital to have the treatment you received while in Turkey checked over, and to ensure that your injury/illness is now on record in the UK health service.
  • Contact your tour operator or package holiday company to follow up on the initial report you made whilst on holiday in Turkey, making sure they have all the key facts.
  • Follow up with your travel or medical insurance firm, to make sure they have all the key facts.
  • Contact a reputable holiday claims company such as Legal Expert to begin making a compensation claim for the injury or illness you suffered while you were on holiday in Turkey.

The two links below give additional information:

How to make holiday accident claims

How to make package holiday claims

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Emergency Contacts in Turkey After an Accident

If you suffer from an accident or illness in Turkey, then you need to know who to contact, and how to contact them. The details below will help with this.

  • For emergency services such as ambulance, fire etc. call 112 and request the service you require.
  • For the police, if the matter pertains to criminal activity call 1555 to report the crime.
  • For the local rural police in less tourist occupied areas call 156.
  • For the coast guard call 158.

Here are some general considerations when contacting the emergency services in Turkey if you have been the victim of an accident or injury:

Ambulances in Turkey are notoriously slow to respond to emergency calls. In most cases, it will be a lot quicker to take a public taxi to the local hospital instead.

In rural areas, and places away from the main tourist areas, you may find that doctors and medical staff have limited English skills.

Key services for UK holidaymakers in Turkey:

The British Embassy for Turkey is in Ankara and can be contacted on +90 312 455 3344.

The British Consulate for Turkey is in Istanbul and can be contacted on +90 212 334 64 00.

Getting Medical Treatment After an Accident in Turkey

Before you return home and begin your Turkey holiday illness/accident claim, you need to make sure you get the proper medical treatment you need. You should call the emergency services on 112 to begin accessing the healthcare system in Turkey.

A major consideration or UK holidaymakers in Turkey is that Turkey is not part of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme. This means you will not have access to free healthcare while you are on holiday in Turkey. The UK Government gives some useful information about this here.

For the reasons outlined above, it is highly recommended that you have adequate health/travel insurance to cover medical costs in Turkey. You will need to clear treatment through your insurer, and in most cases, the insurer will pay the healthcare provider directly. However, in some cases, you may need to pay the medical bills on site in Turkey and then claim the costs back from your insurer when you return home to the UK at the end of your holiday.

Time Limits to Claim Compensation in Turkey

If you need to claim for injury or illness in Turkey that happened while you were on holiday, then you need to be aware that there are strict time limits to claim compensation in Turkey. These time limits are detailed in the table below:

Edit
Circumstance of Claim Time Limit
On a pre-booked package holiday, fight or accommodation that was booked in the UK. 3 years
Holidays that you booked directly yourself. 2 years
On a directly booked flight too or from Turkish airports including:
• Esenboga International Airport
• Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International Airport
• Dalaman Airport
• Milas-Bodrum Airport
• Adnan Menderes International Airport in Izmir		 2 years
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Package Holiday Injury Claims in Turkey

One of the most common types of Turkey holiday compensation claims that we make here at Legal Expert are those against the package holiday company that sold the entire package to the holidaymaker.

If you have had an accident, suffered an injury or became ill whilst on a package holiday booked through a tour company such as Thomas Cook, EasyJet or TUI, then you must report it to the tour operator.

Every one of these travel firms is expected to comply with the Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. Many of these regulations are designed to protect holidaymakers. Before you make a claim, you need to make sure the incident has been documented by the tour company, and then use the Legal Expert national claims service to claim compensation, based on any failure to comply with legislation designed to protect UK tourists.

Turkey Holiday Compensation Claims We Can Conduct

Legal Expert has a team of holiday compensation lawyers who are experienced and skilled in claiming across a wide range of holiday compensation cases, the most common of these are:

Claims against a hotel, restaurant or another hospitality venue.

Claims against a package tour operator.

Claims for road traffic accidents in Turkey.

Claims for slips, trips or falls in a public place.

Claims for injuries caused by sporting accidents in Turkey.

These are the most frequent kind of holiday compensation claims we make, although this is not an exhaustive list. If your particular claim doesn’t fit on this list anywhere, please contact us so we can discuss your unique situation.

Turkish Hotel Accident Claims

There are many reasons why you might need to make an injury or illness in Turkey claim against the hotel you are staying ion on holiday, the most common reasons being:

  • Illnesses caused by badly prepared food and drink such as food poisoning.
  • Accidents that happen in the pool area due to poor maintenance of facilities or inadequate supervision.
  • Accidents that happen in the gym area due to poor maintenance of facilities or inadequate supervision.
  • Injuries such as electric shocks, caused by poorly maintained room facilities.
  • Slips, trips or falls due to badly maintained public walkways and flooring.
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Food Poisoning and Water-Borne Illness Claims

People on holiday suffering from food poisoning in Turkey is another common reason we claim compensation on behalf of our clients. While a mild case might be simply an annoyance for a day or two of your holiday, a more severe case can ruin your entire vacation.

The most common cause of food poisoning is eating food that is contaminated with the campylobacter bacteria. It is most often found in untreated water (so stick to bottled water in Turkey even for brushing your teeth), and undercooked meat.

If you begin suffering from nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, and stomach cramps while you are on holiday in Turkey, you may have contracted food poisoning and should seek medical attention.

If food poisoning is contracted due to a hospitality venue such as a hotel restaurant, that was booked as part of a package tour in the UK, then you must report the accident and injury to your tour company, so that you have a clear route to making a holiday compensation claim when you return to the UK after your vacation.

Slips, Trips, and Falls

A slip, trip or fall can happen anywhere. This is the single most common type of accident in the entire world. It can be caused by badly maintained pathways, floors that are left uncleaned or wet, incorrectly signed obstructions and a whole myriad of other ways.

Typically, a slip, trip or fall in Turkey would result in a sprained or broken wrist, or an injury to leg, ankle or foot.

If your accident occurs within a hospitality venue such as a hotel that was booked as part of a package tour in the UK, then you must report the accident and injury to your tour company, so that you have a clear route to making a holiday compensation claim when you return to the UK after your vacation.

Sports Activity Accident in Turkey

Turkey is a great destination for holidaymakers from the UK who enjoy sporting activities. Unfortunately, not every activity provider maintains their equipment to sufficient standards. Many also lack the basic skills needed to supervise their customers and provide a safe environment. We can help UK holidaymakers to claim for injuries caused by:

  • a parasailing accident in turkey.
  • a quad bike accident in turkey.
  • a boat accident in Turkey.
  • a jet ski accident in Turkey.
  • a horse riding accident in Turkey.

And many more types of sporting accidents. Call Legal Expert today to find out how our national claims service can help you claim the compensation you are entitled to.

Car and Road Traffic Accidents in Turkey

Each year, there are over 10,000 deaths due to road accidents in Turkey. 55% of those deaths are car drivers. Despite there being laws in place to help make Turkey a safer place to drive, these laws are policed somewhat ineffectively. This means that accidents caused by speeding, drunk driving and dangerous driving are still common in Turkey, unlike most of Europe.

If you are involved in a car accident in Turkey as either a driver or passenger in a vehicle while on holiday in Turkey, you must report the incident to the police if you intend to make an insurance or compensation claim at a later stage.

Do I Need to Use a Turkish Lawyer to Claim for Injury or Illness in Turkey?

There is no reason to use a local solicitor in Turkey to make a holiday compensation claim. Even if the injury was caused by a local Turkish company. For example, if you were to be injured in a ferry accident in Turkey, on a ferry operated by a Turkish company, then the UK based claims service offered by Legal Expert will be able to claim compensation for you.

No Win No Fee Claims

Legal Expert offers our national claims service as a simple and effective way to claim holiday compensation for accidents, injuries and illnesses in Turkey. We operate under a No Win No Fee scheme, which means you have nothing to pay to begin your claim. We won’t charge any ongoing legal fees, and if we lose your claim, you walk away without paying us anything at all. The only time we will levy a fee, is when you actually receive a holiday compensation payment. This means there is no financial risk to you at all.

Major Resorts And Cities In Turkey

  • Istanbul
  • Ankara
  • Izmir
  • Bursa
  • Adana
  • Gaziantep
  • Konya
  • Cankaya
  • Antalya
  • Bagcilar
  • Diyarbakir
  • Kayseri
  • UEskuedar
  • Bahcelievler
  • Umraniye
  • Mersin

How to Start Your Claim

If you believe you have a valid reason to claim compensation following an accident or injury whilst you were on holiday in Turkey, or that you contracted an illness that was directly caused by something that happened on your holiday in Turkey, then call Legal Expert today on 0800 073 8804. We will spend a few minutes taking all the specific details of your holiday compensation claim, and then we will offer you some free legal advice on what we think you should do next. In most cases, we will offer to take on your holiday compensation claim under a No Win No Fee agreement, meaning there is no financial risk to you at all.

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Useful Links

British Embassy Ankara

Şehit Ersan Caddesi 46/A

Çankaya

Ankara

Turkey

Tel: +90 312 455 33 44

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 8:45 am to 5 pm (local time).

British Consulate General Istanbul

Meşrutiyet Caddesi No 34

Tepebaşı Beyoglu

34435 Istanbul

Turkey

Tel: +90 212 334 64 00

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:45 pm (local time).

British Consulate Izmir

1442 Sokak No 49

Alsancak

35220 Izmir

Turkey

Tel: +90 232 463 51 51

Opening times: Monday to Friday, 8:45 am to 5 pm (local time).

At the link below you will find some detailed information on how UK tourists can gain access to medical treatment and healthcare while they are on holiday in Turkey.

Information on accessing healthcare in Turkey