“Safety precautions which would have been taken in this country were not applied in the same way in turkey” was the verdict following the death of an English girl on holiday; who died after falling off a quad bike. The incident which falls outside of UK jurisdiction is a sobering reminder that sometimes risks on holiday aren’t covered in case of injury (but should they?).
‘Something has to come of it’
While on a week long holiday in Turkey, 21 year old Amarna Carthy had hired a quad bike with her aunt Jakadi Clarke (24). Two days before they were due to drive home the pair were riding (with Amarna the passenger on the back) along a road behind a lorry.
With a group of impatient motorists behind them wanting to go faster Miss Clarke moved towards the side of the road to allow the cars to pass, but soon after doing so the road became very narrow. They quickly ran out of road at the side and the pair fell down a verge. Miss Clarke suffered a fractured pelvis but Miss Carthy unfortunately ended up with a serious head injury, being pronounced dead at the scene once medical personnel arrived.
The fact neither of them owned a full licence did not stop them renting the bike as only a provisional licence is needed in Turkey. The problem also lied with the helmets provided. The sub standard helmets did not give adequate protection which Miss Carthy needed in her fall (cracking in half as she hit the floor), eventually leading to her death.
Coroner Mairin Casey said it was “a tragic accident”, and “the safety precautions, which would have been taken in this country, were not applied in the same way in Turkey.”
‘If anything good is to come of this, the message goes out to the public that they need to be very vigilant of the safety standards abroad when hiring any vehicle of this type, both in terms of the vehicle and safety equipment.”
Is change possible?
The incident is a sobering reminder that holiday injuries are not an easy problem to solve. Post Brexit this may become a larger issue for UK tourists abroad as legal obligations and legal systems will differ from our own. Following Amarna’s death, her mother Tashaka Baumber has set up a petition online to try and bring in more legislation to protect people on holiday.
There are instances of injury abroad, notably common problems such as food poisoning that do allow you to take legal action. While the UK remains in the European Union we are also still able to take advantage of European laws to take legal action against negligent individuals and companies in the union, giving you a fighting chance.
Scott Rees & Co have dealt with cases involving injury abroad in the past, with the understanding that it often takes that little extra effort on our behalf to get the best result across borders and language barriers. Thankfully with our dedicated team that is what we always look to provide.
If you, a family member or a friend has suffered an injury or illness abroad and want to claim compensation, do not let the fact it happened outside the UK intimidate you and give us a call on 01695 722 222 (lines are open weekdays from 9am to 7pm) to get free, impartial, conscientious advice.
Alternatively you can fill in our online form which allows you to tell us about the incident. We can then call you at your convenience to discuss your options. We ensure there is no risk in starting a claim by adopting a no win no fee approach to our cases. Call today to see what we can do for you.