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

Thousands of tourists, many of which are from the UK, visit the Greek island Crete every year. With its warm and sunny climate, beautiful beaches and scenery and picturesque towns and villages, it’s easy to see why people come here for their holidays.

Crete holiday accident

Crete holiday accident

Although thousands of holidaymakers come here every year and have a fantastic time and leave with nothing but very fond memories, there are unfortunately some people that aren’t so lucky due to either being involved in an accident and suffering an injury, or becoming ill. What makes this worse is when they have been injured or have become ill due to someone else’s negligence or mistake that could have been prevented or avoided, and their holiday needn’t have been ruined.

If this has happened to you and you can prove that your suffering was not your fault, you may be eligible to claim injury compensation in Greece. Hiring an experienced personal injury solicitor at this stage will enhance your chances of a successful claim no end as they will know all of the legal ins and outs of holiday accident claims in Greece. Accident Claims UK has a team of holiday compensation solicitors that have gained years of experience through specialising in the personal injury claims industry. For free help and advice regarding your potential claim, just call us on 0800 073 8801 and we will do our best to assist you in getting the compensation you deserve.

Select a Section

How To Deal With Accidents And Injuries In Crete

A guide to Crete holiday accident, illness and injury claims

With British holidaymakers being the single largest group to visit Crete in 2016, it can be seen that Crete is a very popular destination among people from the UK. With plenty of different resorts on the island, cheap package holiday deals and budget airlines offering cheap flights, its not really any surprise that many people choose to come here for their holidays.

Of course, when you go away on holiday, you expect to have a fabulous time and come back with fond memories, but if you sustain an injury, or become ill, because of someone’s negligence, your holiday could quite well be ruined. If this is what has happened to you and you wish to find out more about claiming compensation for your accident on holiday in Crete, this guide will give you lots of information to do so. Within the guide you will find out things such as what steps you should take if you are injured in Greece, what you can include in your claim, how to access healthcare whilst in Crete, what the personal injury claims time limit is for making a claim, and much more. We also touch on the benefits of hiring Accident Claims UK to conduct your claim on your behalf and explain our no win no fee policy. Some of the most common accidents and illnesses that tourists have, that we have dealt with in the past include:

  • Hotel slip, trip and fall accidents.
  • Accidents resulting in cuts and lacerations.
  • Swimming pool accidents.
  • Accidents when partaking in water sports and other outdoor pursuits such as diving, rock climbing etc.
  • Food poisoning.
  • Road accidents.

There are a large number of various accident and illness possibilities that could occur, and so if you have been injured in Crete or suffered food poisoning on holiday and someone else was to blame, have a read through this guide for more information on how to claim compensation, and feel free to contact Accident Claims UK for further help and advice.

Towns and popular resorts in Crete

Crete has a large number of popular resorts throughout the island making it a very desirable destination for many to take their holidays. Some of the most sought after areas and resorts include:

  • Heraklion,
  • Chania,
  • Rethymno,
  • Sitia,
  • Agios Nikolaos,
  • Loutro Village,
  • Kato Zakros,
  • Samonas Village,
  • Sougia Village,
  • Zaros,

What should you do if you have an accident in Crete or Greece?

First and foremost, you should see a medical professional to get your injury or illness checked and treated. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to contact the emergency services to get the assistance you need, we have listed some emergency contact numbers further on in the guide. Once you have been checked over and are safe, you can then think about trying to do some of the following which will be helpful later on should you decide to take legal action against those responsible for your injury or illness. Some steps you should try to take are:

  • Ask for a copy of the medical report once you have seen a medical professional.
  • Take photos of the place your accident took place including the reason for the accident. For example, if you cut open your foot on a broken tile at the swimming pool, take a photo of the area and of the broken tile you cut your foot on. It can also be helpful to take a photo of the injury itself to visually show the pain and suffering you have endured.
  • Try to gather the contact details of any witnesses. Witness statements can prove invaluable in proving liability.
  • If you were involved in a road traffic accident, make sure the local police are informed and ask for an incident number. Also, just as you would in the UK, take down the make and registration of the vehicle that caused the accident as well as the contact and insurance details of the driver at fault.
  • Inform your travel agent who you booked your holiday with.
  • Inform your travel insurance provider.
  • Keep receipts of any medical treatments you have had to pay for, and any other costs you may have incurred as a result of the accident or illness.
  • If your accident occurred in an establishment such as the hotel, make sure it is recorded in their accident record book and ask for a copy.

We understand, especially in very traumatic cases that doing all of these steps may be impossible at the time, but if you can, try to do as many as you can as it could really help your case later on.

Useful and Emergency numbers for Crete

After being involved in an accident or becoming ill, you may need to contact the emergency services or contact other services for assistance. Below we have listed some of the numbers you may need on holiday in Crete:

  • Emergency Services – 112 (UK holidaymakers can dial 999 from their mobile phones also.)
  • Ambulance – 166.
  • Traffic Police – +31 2810-282-031.
  • Tourist Police – +31 2810-283-190.
  • Fire Service – 199.
  • British Consulate – +31 2810-224-012.

The full British Embassy details are listed at the end of the guide.

Its worth noting, that the ambulance and medical services are generally more basic on the Greek islands, compared to those on the mainland of Greece.

Finding healthcare and medical treatment for your injury or illness

As both Greece and the UK are currently part of the European Union (although this is set to change due to Bexit), UK holidaymakers can gain access to healthcare whilst in Greece or on any of the Greek islands with the use of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) just the same as a local person. You should make sure you apply for an EHIC before you travel to Crete and make sure to take it with you. Although the EHIC will gain you access to emergency healthcare, it does not cover private treatment, on-going outpatient treatment or costs of getting you back to the UK under medical supervision and so it is still imperative that you take out a separate travel health insurance also.

If your EHIC has been lost or stolen, you can ask for a temporary replacement by contacting the UK’s Overseas Health Team on +44 191-218-1999.

It may be necessary for you to pay some of the medical costs upfront when in Crete which you can claim back later, so it is always advisable that you have some money available should an emergency arise.

Personal injury claim time limits in Crete and Greece

As with any personal injury claim, there is a time limit in which you need to have started your claim, starting from the date your injury or illness occurred.

Injury compensation in Crete differs slightly to the general compensation time limit of 3 years depending on the circumstances of the claim. The following time limits apply:

Accident / Injury / IllnessTime Limit
For package holidays to Crete that were booked through a UK travel agency 3 years may very
For accidents or injuries on holidays booked privately (ie. Not package holidays to Greece)Up to 5 years may very
For road traffic accidents in Crete Up to 5 years may very
For injuries or illnesses sustained whilst on a flight to or from Crete2 years may very
Accidents on a cruise ship 2 years may very

If you are unsure of what the time limit is for your accident or injury, just contact us at Accident Claims UK for assistance.

Common Holiday Accident, Injury, And Illness Claims Our Experts Conduct

Package holiday abroad claims

Holidaymakers are protected by the rules and regulations set out in the Package Travel, Package Holiday, and Package Tour Regulations 1992 when they book a package holiday to Crete with any UK travel agent as the tour operators are legally obliged to adhere to these rules and provide a duty of care to all of their customers in all areas of the holiday package.

And so, it is required that this duty of care owed by the travel company extends out to include covering the flights to and from the holiday destination, the hotel or accommodation included in the package and the services they provide including food and drink, and also any excursions or activities booked by or run by, the travel company. Although other companies may directly be involved with any of these, such as the airlines providing the flights, the owner of the hotel providing the accommodation and so on, as they are all part of the package deal put together by the travel company, this means that the travel company takes overall responsibility of how their customers are treated as part of their duty of care.

If you have sustained an injury in an accident on holiday in Crete, contact us for more information and to find out if you have a valid claim.

Hotel accidents in Crete

With many package holidays offering all-inclusive dining, numerous swimming pools and various activities on the hotel site, it is understandable that many holidaymakers spend a good amount of time at the hotel itself whilst on their holiday. This is why many of the holiday accident claims in Greece that we have seen over the years, are often from accidents and illnesses caused by negligence at the hotel.

Some of the most common types of accidents and illnesses to occur at a hotel are:

  • Food poisoning.
  • Slips and falls – These can be from a number of negligence issues such as spillages not being cleaned up, poorly maintained floor surfaces and coverings, wet surfaces due to cleaning without the appropriate warning signs, poor housekeeping resulting in trip hazards. Also, the can inclue falls from balconies in some circumstances.
  • Burn injuries – Usually from food and drink that is too hot to consume, causing burns to the mouth and throat.
  • Poor hygiene on the part of staff at a hotel or a resutaurant.
  • Illnesses due to untreated swimming pool water.
  • Problems with eyes and throat caused by too much chemical being used to treat the pools.
  • Gym accidents – These could be due to faulty equipment that has clearly not been maintained. Also accidents may occur due to inadequate  supervision when using the equipment.
  • Road accidents caused by the transportation provided by the hotel.

Crete holiday illness compensation claims

Crete has many hotels and resorts to offer to tourists, with the majority offering high standards of hygiene. However, unfortunately, the level of hygiene can vary a great deal between the different resorts.

Food poisoning on holiday is sadly quite common when visiting countries with hotter climates and although most of the time it may be just a case of having a slightly upset stomach which clears up in a day or so, sometimes food poisoning can cause very unpleasant symptoms such as sickness and diarrhea, stomach cramps, and lethargy, which occasionally cause the victim to need to be hospitalised due to dehydration and other complications.

Food poisoning may occur due to:

  • Improper storage of food such as storing food at too higher temperature.
  • Incorrect preparation of food.
  • Undercooked meats, poultry and sea food.
  • Cross-contamination of cooked and uncooked food.
  • Unhygienic kitchen and restaurant areas.
  • Cutlery and utensils not being washed thoroughly.
  • Using tap water to wash salad vegetables and fruit and to make ice cubes.

If you have become ill due to food poisoning whilst on holiday in Crete, and you can prove liability, you may be eligible to claim holiday compensation for food poisoning.

Slips, trips and falls on holiday

These are by far the most common forms of accident to have whilst on holiday and can happen at any time during your holiday, from embarking and disembarking your flight or any other transport on holiday, to walking around the hotel, or visiting the local area for example. If your fall was due to someone else’s negligence, you may be able to make a claim.

In the hotel for example, a number of things could cause you to fall such as uneven floor surfaces that have not been corrected or signposted, wet floors after cleaning or due to spillages and leaks, broken or faulty floor coverings, poor lighting especially by the stairs, and so on. Also, although thankfully more rare due to the devastating and even fatal injuries that could result, falling over a balcony can also be due to negligence if the balcony wall has not been built high enough and to the correct standards, or has not been well maintained in order to be safe for use.

Although in the majority of cases, a slip, trip or fall only results in minor injuries such as some bruising or a sprained ankle, this can be enough to ruin your holiday and therefore it is worth making a compensation claim for damages. Contact Accident Claims UK for further help and advice.

Water sports, boat, or ferry accidents in Greece and Crete

Crete is a popular destination for numerous water sporting activities such as jet skiing, water skiing, diving and boat trips with tourists often using the island as a base, using it as somewhere to stay whilst they participate in various pursuits. Quite often, holidaymakers book water sporting activities in advance as part of their package holiday.

Before joining in with any activities, it is important to make sure that the company in charge of the activity is fully accredited with international bodies and that all instructors have the relevant qualifications and skills to run the activity safely and properly. It is also recommended that you ensure that the company is fully insured and holds the correct insurance that covers you if something were to go wrong. If you can, we would certainly recommend that you book your sporting activities through your package holiday provider so that you know the activities will be covered by the strict UK package holiday rules and regulations and that your holiday provider is responsible for your safety.

If you have suffered an injury due to negligence, it is possible you’ll be entitled to claim for compensation, contact us for more information.

Car and other road accidents in Crete

Crete unfortunately, has one of the highest rates of fatalities in the EU caused by road traffic accidents with the numbers increasing from 2011 onwards.

If you are involved in an accident that is someone else’s fault, just the same as in the UK, you will be able to claim from the driver who was at fault or from their insurance, providing you can prove that they were to blame. You should make sure the accident is reported to the local Police and also inform your holiday provider and your travel insurance company. If you were driving a hired vehicle, the hire company should also be informed.

How Accident Claims UK Can Help You

Do I need to use a legal team in Crete for my claim?

A very common mistake people often make is presuming that they have to use a legal team local to where their accident took place, when in fact, they can use a legal team from the UK. Claims against package holiday providers, airlines and even claims against a local provider can all be conducted using a UK personal injury lawyer.

No Win No fee claims for an accident or illness on holiday in Crete

Accident Claims UK work on a no win no fee basis. Simply put, no win no fee means that if we do not win your claims case for you, you do not need to pay any fees to us at all. Therefore, we do not ask for any payments upfront or during the whole process of making your claim as payment will solely depend on the outcome of the case. Once the claim has been settled, only then will we ask for payment for our legal costs and only if the claim was a success, which we then take as a small percentage of the settlement amount.

With no win no fee, you do not need to worry about being able to afford legal help as no money will be paid to us until the settlement has been awarded and so there is no gamble of your current finances. Sometimes compensation claims can take months, or even years with particularly complex cases, and if using a traditional pay by the hour solicitor, the legal fees could be huge and for some people impossible to afford especially when there is no guarantee that they will win their case, possibly losing thousands of pounds in the process, but using our no win no fee service, takes away the problem of affordability and poses no risk to your current finances at all.

Why choose our expert team?

Accident Claims UK have been well established in the personal injury claims field for many years. We deal with all sorts of personal injury claims, many being for accidents and illnesses that have occurred when people have been holidaying abroad. We make the process as straightforward as possible. All you need do is follow the steps below.

Contact our team by email, phone, or post. Our team will assess your claim.Once you are ready, we can then start your claim.

We offer a high standard of customer service and have a fantastic track record of making successful compensation claims, often securing our clients with the maximum payout amount possible for their individual case.

We work quickly and efficiently and with extreme care to ensure that no stone is left unturned in building our clients a strong case and to make sure that we claim for everything they are entitled to. We keep our clients informed every step of the way and do our best to get the claim to conclude as soon as we can.

We always work hard and give each individual case our full attention to make sure that we get our clients the maximum amount of compensation we possibly can.

Contact us today

Call us at Accident Claims UK today on 0800 073 8801. After an initial chat to find out how we can be of help, we may offer you a free consultation period with one of our solicitors so that you can discuss your accident on holiday in Crete to see if you have a valid claim. During this session, you can freely ask any questions you may have about the claiming process and we can establish the facts from you about what happened. If we feel you have reason to claim compensation and a good chance of success, we will talk this through with you and look at your options.

In most cases we will offer to pursue the claim on your behalf and in doing so will then set to work on building up your case, gathering further evidence in support of your claim to get it ready to take to court. We may also offer to arrange for you a free local medical for a thorough examination of your injuries if you have not already done so.

Feel free to contact us today on 0800 073 8801 and we will endeavor to help you as best we can.

Additional Resources

British Embassy Greece – Athens

1, Ploutarchou str,
106 75 Athens,
Greece.

Telephone: +30 210 7272 600

Web: www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-athens

British Vice Consulate Crete

Candia Tower,
17 Thalita Street,
Dimitrios Square,
Heraklion,
71202 Crete,
Greece.

Telephone: +30 281 0224 012

Web: www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-vice-consulate-crete

NHS information on healthcare system in Greece

This link leads to the NHS guide on healthcare in Greece including some useful telephone numbers and some information regarding EHIC

European Health Insurance Card

This link contains lots of information regarding EHIC and provides links on applying for your card.

Accident claims abroad

This is another of our guides which details making claims for accidents abroad in general and will have additional information to the information provided in this guide.

Allergic reaction to food

If you have had an allergic reaction to food while on holiday in Crete, this useful claims guide explains how to make a compensation claim.