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

Holiday accident claims Iceland

Holiday accident claims Iceland

A lot of British tourists visit Iceland to see some of the most breath-taking sights like mountains, glaciers, geysers and the Northern Lights. For most, the trip goes without any problems but if you’ve had an accident on holiday in Iceland and are considering making a compensation claim then you will find this guide packed with useful information.

Accident Claims UK are a specialist personal injury solicitor and often deal with holiday accident claims. If you’d like to begin a claim today, then please call us on 0800 073 8801.

If you’d like to know more first, then read on and this guide will explain what to do in the event of an accident, how to get free treatment and how to make use of our no win no fee accident claim service.

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How To Deal With Accidents On Holiday And To Make Holiday Accident Claims

A Guide Claims For An Accident On Holiday In Iceland

Following your accident on holiday in Iceland, you may be wondering if you’re going to be eligible to make a claim for compensation or not. Accident Claims UK have years of experience and fully understand what is required for a claim to be successful.

This guide will explain what needs to be proven and will provide you with the information to make your own decision about whether you should claim. But, if after reading all of the details you’re still not sure, please call one of our experts who can offer free legal advice and point you in the right direction.

When making a claim for any personal injury, we need to be able to prove that the accident happened because somebody did something (or didn’t do something) that caused you to have an accident and become injured.

If you were somewhere where you shouldn’t have been or the accident occurred through your own mistake, then you wouldn’t be eligible to make a claim as the 3rd party would’ve had no way of preventing it from happening.

However, if they were negligent in any way (or a member of their staff was) then you could be eligible to claim compensation against them.

Next up, it’s vitally important when seeking compensation that you visited a doctor or hospital after your accident. There is a two-fold reason for this: firstly, you need to be treated for your injuries with either medicine or hospital treatment and secondly (and significantly) a medical record will be created that documents your injuries and the level of severity.

Any personal injury lawyer will need to provide medical records to prove that the accident occurred and to show how serious the injury was. Without medical records, it is most likely that a claim won’t be possible. You’ll probably be assessed my UK doctor’s as part of any claim but the initial medical assessment following any accident is essential.

Finally, there are personal injury claim time limits in which claims must be made. If you file a claim outside of the local time limits, then it will be automatically rejected. For example, in the UK, injury claims must be lodged within 3 years of the accident happening.

The only exception to this is if you don’t find out about an injury or illness until a later date i.e. when a doctor diagnoses a problem. Then the claim can be made up to 3 years after the diagnosis.

Iceland has it’s own time limits (see later in this guide) depending on the type of holiday you booked but our advice would be to begin your claim as soon as you return to the UK so that your personal injury solicitor can have as much time as possible to gather any evidence that is required to support your claim.

Largest Municipalities (Towns & Cities) In Iceland

Regardless of where your injury was sustained, Accident Claims UK can help you to make a compensation claim (so long as they were caused by somebody else), whether you were in the mountains, in a remote village or in the capital city. That said, we’ve listed the top 10 Icelandic destinations for tourists for your information:

  1. Reykjavik
  2. Kopavogur
  3. Hafnarfjorour
  4. Akureyri
  5. Reykjanesbaer
  6. Garoabaer
  7. Mosfellbaer
  8. Selfoss
  9. Akranes
  10. Seltjarnarnes

You Have Had An Injury Abroad, Here Is What To Do

Following an Icelandic accident on holiday, there are a number of things you could do to help make claiming compensation easier when you return to the UK. While compensation claims shouldn’t be the first thing on your mind, it would be useful if you:

  • Visit a doctor’s surgery or hospital to have your condition assessed and to receive any necessary treatment. As mentioned earlier, this will ensure that a medical record is logged which can be used by us as a basis for your accident claim.
  • Ask any witnesses to your accident to provide their contact details such as name, email, telephone number and address. If they are able to do so, ask them to write down what they saw as well.
  • Get the contact details of the person or business that you believe caused the accident. In the case of a road traffic accident ask the other driver for their contact details, insurance details and their vehicle licence plate.
  • Photograph the scene of the accident and capture the root cause of the accident i.e. if you believe that a raised paving slab caused you to trip then ensure you photograph it.
  • Write down what happened for your own benefit as it’s easy to forget details like where the accident happened, the date and who you were with.
  • Contact the emergency services in serious accidents and inform your travel insurance provider as well.
  • When you return to the UK, contact Accident Claims UK and we’ll work with you to assess your accident, your injuries and give you a fair and honest opinion about the chances of success in making a claim.

It is also worth keeping any receipts if you have to spend money because of the accident as financial losses can be reimbursed as part of any compensation claim.

What Is The Emergency Service Number In Iceland?

If you do need to contact the emergency services following an accident on holiday in Iceland, then it’s a fairly easy process. Iceland operates a single emergency number which operates in the same way as our own 999 service.

Simply dial 112 from any phone and you’ll be connected to the relevant emergency service.

Following a very serious accident or one involving a fatality, the British Embassy will support all UK citizens. We’ve included their contact details at the end of this guide for your information.

Does The EHIC Card Cover Iceland? – Healthcare For Visitors

The UK and Iceland have an agreement that British tourists can receive treatment while in the country temporarily providing that they have obtained a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) prior to travelling.

The EHIC card is free and takes around 7 days to arrive so leave enough time for it to come.

EHIC covers treatment at a doctor’s surgery or hospital but doesn’t replace any travel insurance which we’d recommend you still obtain. EHIC won’t cover any emergency rescue costs, private healthcare or the cost of returning you to the UK if special provisions are required.

When you attend any type of medical facility, ensure you have your EHIC card and travel insurance documents with you at all times to prevent being charged for treatment.

Is There A Time Limit To Claiming Compensation For An Accident On Holiday In Iceland

As mentioned earlier in this guide, Iceland has time limits in place which any personal injury claims must be made within. Any claim outside of these times will be rejected.

The time limits for making holiday accident claims in Iceland are detailed in the table below:

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Type of holiday to Iceland Time Limit To Make Claim Within
An accident or illness while on a package holiday which was booked with a UK tour operator 3 years may very
A privately booked holiday 2 years may very
An illness or accident sustained in-flight to or from:

– Keflavik International Airport

– Reykjavik airport

 Usually within 2 years, call for advice may very

If you’re unsure which time limit your claim falls within then please contact one of our team for advice.

Holiday Accident Compensation Claims Our Team Handles

Claims For Accidents And Injuries On A Package Holiday

Package holiday compensation is covered by extra legislation that the government arranged to protect holiday makers. It is vital that you inform your tour rep after an accident has happened so that they have a chance to help you and, importantly, the accident in officially logged.

A package holiday is defined as one where you booked 2 or more main elements of your holiday from the same provider such as:

  • Hotel and flight,
  • Flight and excursions,
  • Excursions and hotel,

If you’ve booked any of these combinations from the same provider (or all of the elements) and you have an accident, then you could make a package holiday claim.

As specialists in holiday accident claims, we are well placed to support you when making a claim as we fully understand the legislation that is in place to protect British tourists. Please get in touch for further information.

As mentioned previously, you need to report any package holiday accident to your tour rep. You should receive their number once you arrive at your resort, or when you booked your trip.

Hotel Injuries And Accidents

There are many types of accident that could happen in a hotel that require you to make a personal injury claim. As in all cases, you need to be able to prove that the hotel, or its staff were to blame for your accident, and you incurred an injury because of this.

Commonly, accident claims in hotels can be for: gym based accidents, swimming pool and surrounding area accidents, trips and falls, food poisoning and injuries caused by damaged or defective furniture or equipment provided by the hotel.

Holiday Food And Waterborne Illness Claims

Food poisoning can occur when food hasn’t been prepared, cooked, reheated or stored using hygienic methods. All restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels have a duty of care to ensure the safety of anybody who eats at their establishment.

Even if the restaurant has policies and procedures in place to prevent food poisoning, claims can still be made if staff fail to adhere to the policies.

As with other claims, it is essential that you seek medical advice to be able to make a compensation claim as it will mean your illness was documented and you’ll also received advice and treatment from the doctor.

If you suffer from nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps or a high temperature while on holiday, then you could be suffering from food poisoning or a similar condition caused by drinking contaminated water and you should speak to a doctor for advice.

Can I Claim For Slipping On Holiday

In most cases you can claim for a slip or trip on holiday providing it wasn’t caused by you not paying attention or messing around.

If you believe that you’ve tripped over because somebody else made a mistake, then you can seek compensation. Common reasons for making a claim include:

  • Damaged or uneven flooring or pathways such as a damaged carpet or rug and also an uneven paving slab that caused you trip over.
  • A slippery floor that has no warnings to alert you. This could be an over-polished floor or excessively wet floor
  • Broken handrails on stairs which cause you to lose your balance and fall
  • Trip hazards that simply aren’t visible because of inadequate or broken lighting.

Try to photograph anything that has caused you to fall, seek medical advice and ask any witnesses for their contact details so that we can contact them at a later date.

Injuries sustained during a fall can include: soft tissue damage, bruising, simple fractures, complex fractures, spinal injuries and head injuries. What sometimes seems like an innocuous accident can often lead to life-changing injuries.

Injury In An Accident On An Adventure Activity In Iceland

Many people like to partake in adventurous activities while on holiday in Iceland which, when organised well, can be a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you’re injured while on completing an activity you may be able to claim compensation if:

  • The operator wasn’t supervising all participants for the whole duration.
  • The operator didn’t give clear instructions on how to complete the task.
  • Safety equipment wasn’t provided, was damaged or wasn’t sufficient for the task.

If you believe the person in charge was not trained fully themselves then this could be another reason for compensation to be paid. All staff should be fully trained and competent enough to lead a group, especially when dealing with activities that could be classed as extreme sports.

Speak with one of our advisors if you’re not sure if you have a valid claim or not.

Icelandic Road Traffic Accidents Involving Tourists

Lots of tourists like to drive themselves around Iceland and the road safety varies depending on your location. Following a car crash, you may be able to claim compensation if the other driver was to blame.

Stats show that in 2015 there were over 200 tourists injured in car accidents so you should take extra care when driving and if you are involved in a crash then you should ensure that all parties receive treatment where needed and then:

  • Obtain the other drivers contact details and insurance details.
  • Photograph the scene of the car crash while it’s in situ.
  • Get any witness details.
  • Contact your travel insurance provider, holiday rep and car hire company.

You may be asked to fill in a European accident report form which you can do but don’t let the other driver complete if on your behalf, stick to facts and don’t write anything that could be deemed show you are admitting liability for the crash.

How Could The Accident Claims UK Team Help You?

Can I Work With A Solicitor Based In The UK?

Following an Icelandic holiday accident, some claimants are put off from making a claim because they think they’ll have to work with an Icelandic solicitor, but this isn’t necessary at all.

Accident Claims UK are based here and can help with your claim on a no win no fee basis. Working with a UK-based solicitor is fine and much easier than having to deal with time differences, language barriers and local legal procedures.

We have the expertise to help make your claim for you so please get in touch once you’re ready to claim the compensation you deserve.

No Win No Fee Claims For An Icelandic Holiday Accident

No win no fee agreements remove a big barrier for many people who are considering making a compensation claim.

When using a traditional solicitor who charges by the hour, there is a risk that you’ll pay them for all of their time, even if they lose your case which many of us couldn’t afford to do.

With no win no fee agreements you never actually have to send us any payment at all because, if we don’t win your case you don’t pay us for our service or time at all.

If we win compensation for your claim, then we simply retain an agreed success fee (a percentage of your compensation) and then send the rest of the compensation directly to you.

This makes claiming for an accident much less stressful and definitely much less risky than paying by the hour.

Why Claim Compensation With Our Experts?

Our panel of solicitors are all personal injury specialists who only work on a no win no fee basis. They are all professional but at the same time friendly and never bog you down with legal jargon.

Throughout your case, if you have any questions, the team are available to talk to when you need them and will always offer correct information and honest advice.

With all claims made by Accident Claims UK our process is:

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Stage One: You make contact with our specialists by email, telephone, live chat or post. Stage Two: Our team discuss and assess your claim with you. Stage Three: We commence your claim once you tell us your happy for us to do so.

Contact Us

If you’re happy to use Accident Claims UK to make your personal injury claim now that you’ve read the whole of this guide about claiming compensation for an accident on holiday in Iceland, then you can get in touch by:

  • Telephone: Speak to us today by calling 0800 073 8801
  • Email: Send us the details of your accident to office@accidentclaims.co.uk (we aim to respond within 3 hours)
  • Live chat: Our advisers are available to discuss your claim, 7 days a week
  • Online: Fill in this online form and we’ll get back to you at a convenient time

However you choose to get in touch, we’ll begin by offering a free consultation where we’ll listen to the details of your claim and give you an honest assessment of the chances of winning compensation for your injuries.

Useful Guides And Contacts

Hopefully, you now have all of the information you require to help you to decide whether you’re going to proceed with a claim. In case you require any more information, we’ve provided the following useful resources:

British Embassy Iceland – Reykjavik
Laufasvegur 31
101 Reykjavik
Iceland
Tel: +354 550 5100
Web: www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-reykjavik

Opening times: Monday to Friday 9am to 12pm

NHS guide to healthcare in Iceland – a guide, from the NHS, about getting treatment and the quality of healthcare in Iceland.

Road Traffic Accident Claims – a guide that shows the types of injuries sustained in car crashes and the amounts of compensation that can be awarded.

Hotel Accident and Illness Claims – a more detailed look at hotel accidents and compensation amounts offered.