Sickness Claims

What is a sickness compensation claim?

No one likes falling ill while at work or on holiday, and falling ill while abroad can be particularly distressing if the sickness is serious. Unfortunately, in many cases, it’s simply unavoidable.

More often than not, many of the most common illnesses you can contract while at work or on holiday are easily avoidable if proper hygiene procedures are followed. However, there may be occasions where the sickness you contracted was entirely preventable. Whether this was due to a sanitation failure, or an unsafe excursion, employers and holiday service providers have a duty of care towards their customers, which includes rigorous adherence to health and safety guidelines.

Therefore, if you’ve fallen ill due to the negligence of a third party while at work or on holiday, you’re likely eligible to make an illness at work or holiday sickness claim.

Examples of illnesses and scenarios that you could claim compensation for include, but are not limited to:

• Contracting Norovirus due to inadequate hygiene practices

• Blisters or infected bites from bedbugs
• Legionnaires’ disease
• Typhoid
• There are many other diseases and illnesses you could claim for, so long as the sickness contracted was down to the negligence of another party. If this was the case, then you can begin making a sickness claim.

Claiming compensation for sickness

Unfortunately, claiming compensation for sickness while at work or on holiday is not as simple as personal injury or accident at work claims. Sickness compensation claims specifically require you to not only prove that you have suffered a genuine illness, but that it was the direct result of another party’s negligence.

When you get in touch with us to begin the claims process, we’ll speak with those responsible to determine who is liable and if they’re willing to accept responsibility for your illness. An admission of responsibility at this early stage may lead to interim payments; smaller compensation fees that can be used to help with medical care as your claim progresses.

In order to increase the likelihood of a successful claim, you’ll be required to provide us with as much supporting evidence as possible. This can include knowledge of what caused your illness, and a medical diagnosis from a doctor. We’ll also speak with other individuals who may have been affected in a similar manner, as well as speaking with medical experts to determine potential treatments and care necessary for you to make as full a recovery as possible.

In the event that the liable party does not accept responsibility or disagrees with the level of compensation to be awarded, the claims process will proceed to court.

Holiday sickness claims guide

While work sickness claims are limited to your place of work, a holiday sickness claim can be made in regard to any illness contracted while holidaying at home or abroad. This could include the following:

• Food poisoning due to poor food hygiene and preparation
• Poor accommodation quality in hotels or aboard cruise ships
• Accidents and illnesses contracted as part of holiday package tour
• Illnesses contracted due to poor sanitation of accommodation facilities such as toilets or swimming pools

Fortunately, making a specific holiday sickness claim only differs slightly from a standard sickness claim, and it does not require you to make the claim in the country you contracted the illness. For UK citizens, the majority of holiday sickness claims can be made while in England or Wales.

To get a holiday refund due to illness, we’ll first need to sit down and discuss your specific circumstances in order to determine if you’re eligible for holiday sickness compensation. If we think you can make a successful holiday sickness claim, we’ll begin by helping you gather the necessary evidence to prove your claim. Evidence that can help you win holiday sickness compensation may include:

• Statements from other guests affected by the incident along with their contact details
• Personal evidence of the poor hygiene you experienced
• Information regarding the full extent of a holiday service provider’s health and safety policy
• A medical report from your doctor
• Details of previous complaints

When enough evidence has been gathered, we’ll progress to the next stage of the holiday sickness claims process in a similar manner to a standard sickness claim.

It is important to note that the level of compensation you can receive will vary depending on the seriousness and extend of your illness. Naturally, holiday food poisoning claims will offer less holiday sickness compensation than the required medical care to treat legionnaires’ disease, but we’ll endeavour to get you the maximum holiday illness compensation possible for your claim.

An example of a successful holiday food poisoning claim

A typical example of a family winning food poisoning on holiday compensation occurred several years back. Several family members fell ill while staying at a Spanish holiday resort.

Our investigation found that the illness was being spread due to failings by hotel restaurant staff to adequately clean down tables and highchairs in between use. On top of this, the pool staff failed to adhere to any form of acceptable cleaning system when caretaking the hotel pool.

As a result, the family’s youngest child was hospitalised, delaying their return home. For this negligence, the family were awarded a holiday refund due to illness as well as payment to cover the additional expenses they incurred due to not being able to return home on their planned date.

 Making a sickness claim on a no win, no fee basis

We know how stressful it can be to contract a major illness while on holiday, and the expenses it can accrue, especially if it continues to affect you upon your return home. That’s why we offer a no win, no fee policy when making all sickness claims.

Our no win, no fee* agreement means you don’t have to pay any legal fees in advance of receiving compensation, and in the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t have to pay any legal fees at all.

There is no reason you should suffer financially due to another person’s error or negligence. Get in touch with The Compensation Experts today and let us help you win the payment you deserve. If you have any questions about making a claim, you can read up on our most common questions right here.

*Please note that with sickness claims for compensation, conditions may apply.