Poland Accident Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation For A Personal Injury In Poland? On Holiday

By Joanne Jeffries. Last Updated 23rd November 2021. Welcome to our guide on claiming for an accident on holiday in Poland.

Poland holiday accident accident on holiday in Poland

Poland holiday accident

On this page, you are going to find a complete guide to making a compensation claim following an accident on holiday in Poland. If you have come to harm while on holiday, you will find all of the information you will need to learn firstly, why you may have a valid claim, and secondly, how you can move forward with your claim.

Although we have tried to cover everything in this guide, all claims are different. If you don’t find the answer to a particular question below, please speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on 0800 073 8801. They will be happy to give you the answers that you need.

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A Guide To Making A Claim For An Accident On Holiday In Poland

Poland isn’t a major tourist destination for UK holidaymakers. Only around half a million UK residents visit the country each year. However, the UK travel advice for the country states that, “most visits are trouble free.” But of course, problems do arise, and people become ill or are injured in an accident while visiting. This guide is aimed at educating these people, on how they can get help with making a compensation claim when they return to the UK.

The first part of this guide is given over to providing you with all of the important information that you need, to deal with the emergency while still overseas. This includes instructions on how to get hold of the emergency services, and also how to get medical treatment at a Polish hospital. We also offer some advice on some steps you can take, that will make processing your claim a little simpler when you return to the UK. Finally, we provide a table with the details of all of the pertinent claim time limits that are applicable under Polish law.

The next part of this guide goes into some detail about many of the most frequent causes for people to make a holiday accident claim. This includes:

  • Accidents and illness that happen on a package holiday.
  • Accidents that happen to a person staying at a hotel overseas.
  • Illnesses such as food poisoning contracted while on holiday.
  • Slip, trip and fall accidents.
  • Accidents that happen while involved in sporting activities.
  • Insect infestations while on holiday.
  • Road traffic accidents with Polish drivers (including scooter, moped, or motorcycle accidents).

The final part of this guide covers aspects of the claim itself. For example, we explain why the best idea is to use a UK based solicitor to process your claim, even though the incident itself occurred overseas. We will also introduce the accident and injury claims service we operate here at Accident Claims UK. This is an effective way for you to have your holiday claim processed, in an entirely risk-free way from a financial viewpoint. The only thing that you won’t find in this guide, is some form of personal injury claims calculator. These are often inaccurate. We prefer that our clients have a much more accurate idea of how much they might be able to claim. If you speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on the number at the end of this guide, they will be able to give you an estimate of how much you could claim in your own case.

Top Tourist Destinations In Poland

You should be able to claim for an illness or injury in Poland, no matter where you are visiting, for example, in any of these top tourist destinations:

  • Krakow
  • Warsaw
  • Gdansk
  • Wroclaw
  • Poznan
  • Zakopane
  • Torun
  • Lublin
  • Lodz
  • Katowice

What You Must Do If You Are Injured On Holiday

If you become ill, or are injured in an accident in Poland while on holiday, you need to know how to get the help you require, as well as medical treatment. We cover both of these issues in the next two sections. In this section, we are going to list a few steps that you can take, which will have the effect of leaving an official record of your injuries, and the accident that caused them. This will help when it becomes time to start making a claim when you get back home to the UK. These steps include:

  • If you have been involved in a serious accident (a car crash for example), or injured due to the criminal activities of another person (such as being assaulted), then you need to make sure the police attend the scene.
  • If there were any people around who saw how you were injured, ask them to provide you with their contact details. This is so that your legal firm can contact them at a later stage, to act as witnesses.
  • If you can do it safely, use the camera on your phone to take pictures of the cause of the accident, and also anything you think may be useful.
  • Visit the hospital and have your injuries checked over and treated. Even if you think your injuries are not serious, still visit the hospital so that your injuries are officially recorded.

When you return to the UK, speak to one of the Accident Claims UK team on the number at the end of this guide. They will be ready and waiting to go over your claim with you, and offer you a simple and effective way to have your claim processed. You may also like to read our general guide to holiday claims, at this link:

How to make a holiday accident claim

How To Contact The Emergency Services In Poland

If you have some kind of emergency in Poland that you need help with, then you have to know how to get hold of the right emergency services to assist you. Fortunately, the European standard of dialling 112 is adhered to by the Polish Government. You can use any phone, even a UK mobile, to call 112. An operator that can speak English will pick up. You will need to explain your situation to this operator, and then they will send any emergency services that are needed. You can still contact the emergency services individually, on these numbers:

  • 999 – for an ambulance.
  • 998 – for the fire brigade
  • 997 – for the police.
  • 981 – for road assistance.
  • 986 – for the municipal police.

In some circumstances, such as needing emergency repatriation to the UK due to medical reasons, the UK Government may be able to help. We have included the correct contact details for this and the end of the guide. You can get some additional information about the Polish emergency services at this link:

A guide to the Polish emergency services

Access To Medical Care In Poland For Visitors

If you are injured while on holiday, for example in a cycling accident in Poland, calling 112 will get you help at the scene of the accident. But what happens when you are taken to a Polish hospital? Can you get treatment as a UK citizen? The good news here is, that as long as you have a valid Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) with you when you attend a Polish hospital, you will be entitled to free or cut-price emergency treatment the same as a local Polish person.

It is important to note here, that your GHIC doesn’t cover every kind of medical treatment. Only emergency treatment. It won’t cover you for outpatient care, the treatment of existing medical conditions, and some medications. If you need medical care that isn’t covered by your GHIC, you will need to pay for it. If you have a travel or health insurance policy, then this may cover the costs. If not, then you are going to have to settle the medical bill out of your own funds. If you have to do this, Accident Claims UK might be able to help you to claim the medical fees back when you make your compensation claim. You can learn more about getting medical attention from Polish hospitals at this link:

NHS information on how to get help from a Polish hospital

Time Limit Calculator For Personal Injury Claims In Poland

When you make a holiday accident claim, there are certain time limits that are dependent on the circumstances of your trip. This table below should tell you which personal injury claims time limit applies to your case:

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Circumstances of Trip Time Limit
Injury or illness encountered whilst travelling on transport, staying at a hotel, or involved in an activity that was part of a UK package holiday. 3-years. may very
Injury or illness on a trip that was booked privately. 2-years. may very

Claims For Accidents On A Package Holiday

If you are inured or become ill while you are on a package holiday, your personal injury solicitor will generally pursue the travel firm you booked with for compensation. The reason for this, is that every package holiday company in the UK is heavily regulated, and must provide you with a minimum level of quality and safety on holiday. If they fail to meet this requirement, then they could be liable to pay you compensation. You can only claim from the travel firm if the incident you are claiming for happened on transport, at a hotel, or during an activity that was included in the holiday package. You must report the incident to the travel firm as soon as possible after it happens,

When you return to the UK, call Accident Claims UK on the number at the end of this guide. One of our team will help you to get your package holiday claim started right away.

Polish Hotel Accident Claims

If you are injured while staying at a Polish hotel, then as long as the accident that caused your injury was the fault of the hotel operator, you should be able to make a personal injury claim. A hotel, especially a badly managed or understaffed one, can present a whole range of hazards, such as:

  • Food spilt on the hotel restaurant floor causing a slip.
  • Wet floors in and around the pool area causing a slip.
  • Faulty electrical fittings such as a plug socket or light switch causing electrocution or burns.
  • Road traffic accidents while travelling on the hotel shuttle bus.
  • Damaged floor coverings in a hotel room causing a slip.
  • Insect infestations such as bedbugs in a hotel room.

You can see that there are many ways that a guest of a hotel can come to harm. No matter how you are injured, if the hotel is liable, Accident Claims UK can help you. Speak to one of our team on the number at the bottom of the page to proceed with a claim today.

Waterborne Illness Or Food Poisoning Claims

When UK holidaymakers head overseas, the risk of food poising and other foodborne and waterborne illnesses is an ever-present risk. This is not to say that restaurants abroad are not as hygienic as those in the UK. It is due to the fact that unfamiliar foods combined with no natural immunity to the local germs and bacteria, pose a heightened risk of food poisoning while overseas. Food can go off for many reasons, such as:

  • Being left out on a buffet table for too long.
  • Being served by staff who have not washed their hands.
  • Being cleaned in a water source that is not suitable for human consumption.
  • Being stored at the wrong temperature.
  • Not being cooked through properly.

These are just some of the way’s food can go off. There are more. If you come down with a case of food poisoning while you are on holiday, and the restaurant was at fault, then Accident Claims UK can help you to claim. We can also help you if you were injured in an accident at a restaurant, such as having hot food spilt on you, or slipping on a wet floor. In this case, please check out our guide to restaurant accident claims, at this link:

How to claim for an allergic reaction accident in a restaurant

Slip And Trip Injury Claims

Slips, trips and falls are one of the most common types of accidents that a personal injury lawyer has to process claims for on behalf of their clients. These accidents can happen in any place, and at any time. You could trip while boarding your plane to go on holiday, slip on wet tiles around the hotel pool, and be harmed by many other hazards, such as:

  • Torn, frayed or damaged carpets.
  • Chipped or cracked floor tiles.
  • Warped wooden flooring.
  • Dirty or wet floors.
  • Obstructions left in a public place.
  • Broken curbstones of paving slabs.

There are many ways a slip, trip or fall can be caused. No matter how your accident came about, Accident Claims UK should be able to help you make a claim. Speak to one of our team on the number at the end of this guide, and they will help to get your claims started today.

Water Sport, And Adventure Holiday Accidents

If you are inured in an accident whilst taking part in activities such as water sports, hiking, rock climbing, etc. then if it can be proven that the accident was the fault of the event organiser, you should be able to make a claim. You may find that some activities are included as exemptions on your travel insurance, and you would need to pay for medical care yourself after an accident. If this is so, Accident Claims UK can help you to claim the medical fees back. Speak to one of our team on the number at the bottom of the page to learn how.

Insect Bite Injury Claims In Poland

Although insect bites in Europe are very seldom fatal, they can cause nasty injuries and illnesses. Furthermore, insect infestations such as bedbugs can entirely ruin a holiday. The itchy rash they cause, as well as the fact you might carry them home in your clothing, could be considered a valid reason to make a claim. If you have been troubled by insect bites while on holiday, call Accident Claims UK today, to find out if you have a valid reason to claim. One of our team will be happy to let you know.

Car Accidents In Poland

Poland accident statistics

The graph above, shows that the number of fatal road accidents in Poland has gone down in the last decade. However, visitors to the country are still regularly involved in a car accident in Poland. As long as another driver was at fault, Accident Claims UK should be able to help you to make a claim for your injuries. If you speak to one of our team on the number at the end of this guide, they will go over your claim with you, and tell you how we can be of help. You can also take a look out our road traffic accident claims guide, here:

How to make a claim for a road traffic accident

Do I Need A Solicitor Or Lawyer In Poland?

The simple answer here is no; there is no advantage at all in using a local solicitor for your overseas claim. Indeed, it would likely be very difficult to keep in touch with a solicitor abroad. Instead, you should use a local legal firm, such as us here at Accident Claims UK. We have exactly the same chance of being successful when processing your holiday claim as a local solicitor would. Speak to one of our team on the number below to get your claim started.

No Win No Fee Holiday Accident Solicitors

Accident Claims UK is able to offer our accident and injury claims service under a No Win No Fee agreement. This means that we won’t charge when we take your claim on, and we won’t charge as we are processing your claim. If we are unsuccessful, and don’t win you any compensation, there is no fee at all. If we are successful though, we will automatically take our fee out of the settlement we have received for you, and then give you the rest.

How Our Holiday Accident Claims Experts Can Help You

Here at Accident Claims UK, we have come up with a very simple new claims process. When you call us on the number below, one of our team will ask you a number of questions. The answers to these questions will tell us what we need to know about your claim, so that we can offer you some informed advice. Our simple new claims process is defined below:

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Speak to us using web chat, phone or email. Explain your circumstances to the Accident Claims UK team. One of our team will explain how we can help, and get your claim underway.

Contact Us Today

If you have suffered an injury or become ill while on holiday overseas, then as long as a third party is liable, Accident Claims UK should be able to process a claim for you. Speak to one of our team on 0800 073 8801 today, so that they can help to get your claim started right away.

Useful Contact Information

Embassy of the United Kingdom, Warsaw
Kawalerii 12
00-468 Warszawa
Poland
Tel: +48 22 311 00 00
Web: www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-warsaw
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 4:30pm.

The NHS has published a complete guide to getting help at a Polish hospital, at this link:

NHS guide to getting medical care at a Polish hospital

You can find the website of the Association of British Travel Agents, at this link:

ABTA website

FAQ On Making a Claim for An Accident On Holiday In Poland

What would impact your compensation amount for an accident on holiday in Poland claim?

In general terms, your compensation settlement could be impacted by the strength of your evidence, and the skills and knowledge of your solicitor. in terms of the evidence that you would need to provide, this would include evidence of your injuries and evidence of the accident. We explain a little further below:

Evidence to prove your injury- while you might be under the misapprehension that providing a medical report from your own GP or hospital would be sufficient to prove your claim, this would not be the case. During any personal injury claim you would need to attend a medical examination appointment with an independent specialist. They would have to assess your injures in detail. Then they would create the medical report that would serve as independent evidence of your injuries. This evidence could significantly impact your compensation settlement, as it would show the nature, severity and level of pain and suffering.

Evidence to prove the accident- the evidence that you would need to prove your accident happened and caused you injuries could include any of the following:

  • A police report -These are common in road traffic accident claims and assault claims.
  • Witness statements or details of witnesses that could be approached for a statement
  • CCTV footage if it is available
  • Details of everyone involved in the accident

In order to secure the maximum special damages for your claim, you would also have to provide evidence of financial costs and losses you sustained duty or injuries or the accident. This could include pay slips, receipts, credit card or bank statements.

 

Could I make child accident claims if my child is injured in an accident on holiday in Poland?

If a child you are responsible for suffers injury in Poland in an accident that wasn’t their fault, you could potentially make a claim for compensation as their litigation friend. You would decide on certain aspects of your child’s claim, including whether to accept a settlement offer. Using a specialist solicitor to make such claims could be vital in securing your child the maximum compensation possible for their case. After all, they would use their legal knowledge and experience to build as strong a case as possible for your child to receive compensation. They would also negotiate for the maximum settlement they could possibly gain for your child. If you chose not to make a claim on behalf of your child they could make one for themselves. However, they wouldn’t be able to do so until they turned 18.

 

Could I make a claim if someone is fatally injured in an accident on holiday in Poland?

It could be devastating to lose a loved one in a fatal accident while they are on holiday in Poland. Whether you are a financial dependent of the person who has lost their life, or a friend or relative, you could be eligible to claim compensation. You would need to be able to prove that the fatal accident was someone else’s fault, and that your loved one suffered their fatal injuries as a result of the accident. It is vital to understand that while you could claim for the pain and suffering your loved one experienced prior to their death, you could also claim for costs associated with it. You could receive compensation for funeral expenses and suchlike.

Thank you for reading our guide on claiming for an accident on holiday in Poland.