The Role of Local Standards Evidence in Package Travel Personal Injury Claims

What is a package holiday?

A package holiday is defined by the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (‘The Regulations’). It typically involves the pre-arranged combination of at least two travel services, such as transport, accommodation, or other tourist services – which are sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price. These holidays are often marketed and sold by large English tour operators, such as TUI, Jet2 Holidays or Onthebeach.

Making a personal injury claim under the package travel regulations

When a holidaymaker suffers an injury while on a package holiday abroad, they could be entitled to make a personal injury claim against the tour operator under these regulations. To make a successful claim, the claimant will need to show that the tour operator failed to perform their obligations under the holiday contract with reasonable care and skill, either as a result of their own negligence or that of their supplier (such as the hotel where the claimant is staying).

Even though the accident happened abroad, your claim can be made here in England and follow English law under these regulations. This is helpful because it means you don’t have to face potential difficulties of making a claim against a foreign hotel or deal with a foreign legal system. Instead, your claim will be brought against the tour operator in an English court.

Why local standards matter

Whether the services included in the package holiday were performed with “reasonable care and skill” will almost always require reference to the local safety standards in the country where the accident happened. Local standards serve as a benchmark for determining what constitutes reasonable care. Factors that might be considered include:

• National/local health and safety laws
• National building codes and inspection regimes
• Customary hospitality practices
• Industry norms related to staffing, maintenance, and guest safety

Proving local standards: The role of expert evidence

To determine what the relevant local standard is – and whether it was breached – expert evidence is usually needed. This could come from local lawyers, engineers, architects, or other professionals who understand that country’s safety rules and customs.

These experts prepare detailed written reports for the English court, explaining what the local rules and standards were at the time of the accident and whether they were followed.

Seeking specialist support

Although package holiday claims are governed by English law and procedure and can be pursued in the English courts against English tour operators, they require a careful and detailed analysis of local standards. This is why it’s important, if you think you might have a package holiday claim, to get expert advice from specialist lawyers.

A specialist travel injury lawyer will have the skills and experience needed to handle these cases and secure the best possible local standards evidence to support your claim

To speak to us about your holiday accident claim, get in touch today or start your claim online.