The Czech Republic Accident Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation For A Personal Injury Claim In The Czech Republic Holiday

Holiday accident claims Czech Republic

Holiday accident claims Czech Republic

If you’ve been involved in an accident on holiday in the Czech Republic then this guide should provide all the information you’ll need if you’re considering making a compensation claim against the person or party responsible for your injuries.

Accident Claims UK specialise in personal injury and holiday accident claims and have a panel of solicitor’s who all work on a no win no fee basis for cases that we take on.

The Czech Republic is becoming more and more popular with British tourists but if you’ve been injured while visiting through no fault of your own then you’re well within your rights to seek compensation for your pain and suffering. If you’d like us to take your case on then please call us today on 0800 073 8801 but if you’d like to know more then please continue reading this informative and useful guide.

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Dealing With Your Accident On Holiday In The Czech Republic

A Guide To Claims For An Accident On Holiday In The Czech Republic

When clients consider making a holiday accident claim they often come to us for legal advice and often want to know if they are in fact eligible to claim at all. This guide will provide you with the relevant information and help you to decide whether or not you should claim or not. You are entitled to compensation if your injury was caused by someone else, so it is right that you should make a claim.

And that is the first key point when deciding if you’re eligible to make a claim – did somebody else cause your accident to happen? If the answer is yes, then you are on the right track as we need to be able to prove that the accident happened because of somebody else’s negligence. This could be a mistake, an accident, a lack of training or not following company procedures – so long as the accident could’ve been avoided had they acted differently then they could be proven to be the cause of your injuries.

The next important point to check is – did you attend a doctor’s surgery or hospital following your accident? This is important, as when you seek medical advice the doctor or nurse involved in your assessment will record the injuries you sustained in a medical record.

Your medical records are used as a basis for your compensation claim and prove that you were injured and they record the severity of your accident. This part of the claim is called ‘General Damages’ and compensates for the pain and suffering you incurred. Without a medical record it is nearly impossible to determine how bad your injury was.

The final important check you need to make is, are you making your claim within the allowed time limits? Each country has their own time limits, the UK’s is 3 years from the date the accident occurred. The only deviation from this is where you don’t realise you’ve been injured or become ill until a doctor tells you at a later date. In this case the 3 year time limit starts from when the doctor diagnoses your condition.

Making a compensation claim for an accident on holiday in the Czech Republic has its own time limits which we’ll cover in more detail later in this guide.

Hopefully, now you understand the 3 key points required, you’ll now know whether you can claim compensation or not but if you’ve still got questions, please contact one of our legal advisors for advice.

The Most Popular Tourist Destinations In Czech Republic

At Accident Claims UK, we can help with holiday accident claims in any part of the Czech Republic, be it a rural location, an urban one, a small village or the capital city but for your information we’ve listed the top 10 tourist destinations:

  1. Prague Castle
  2. Petrin
  3. Prague Zoo
  4. Lower area of Vitkovice
  5. Aqua Palace Prague
  6. Old Town Hall in Prague
  7. The National Gallery
  8. Aqualand Moravia
  9. The Zlin Zoo
  10. Petrin look-out tower, Prague

If You Have An Accident On Holiday, Here Is What To Do

If you are involved in an accident on holiday in the Czech Republic and want to pursue a compensation claim at a later date, then there are a number of steps you can take to make your claim a lot easier.

You may just want to get back to your holiday following an accident but these steps really are important if you decide to claim for compensation:

  • As mentioned previously, you should make sure you seek medical advice from a doctor who can assess your injuries and treat them. At the same point medical records will be logged including any notes the doctor takes, x-rays and other information which can be obtained by your personal injury solicitor and will become the basis of the general damage’s element of your claim.Without a medical record of your injuries a claim is highly unlikely to be taken on by a personal injury lawyer.
  • Get the details of anybody else who witnessed your accident. Family members can act as witnesses but if there were any independent witnesses then these can be seen as more credible so ask for their contact details and, if possible, as them to write a statement of what they saw.
  • Make a note of what you remember happening as soon as possible, including the exact location of the accident as it can be very easy to forget key information after returning to the UK.
  • Record any costs that you incur because of the accident and keep receipts. These could include additional travel costs or medical treatment costs.
  • Ensure you let your travel insurer know about the accident and in the case of a package holiday, you are required to inform you tour rep so that they have the opportunity to help out where they can and furthermore, they will record the accident, which can be used as further supporting evidence.

There is no need to contact a solicitor immediately but we’d recommend you call Accident Claims UK upon your return to the UK to give us as much time as possible to build up a case for compensation.

Who Do You Contact In An Emergency In Czech Republic?

The Czech Republic have a very similar system to the UK when it comes to contacting the emergency services. They operate a single number that can get you through to the police, ambulance or fire services.

From any phone, call 112 to speak with an operator who will connect you to the relevant service.

If your accident involves a very serious injury, or even a fatality, then you will get support from the British Embassy. For your information, we’ve included all of their relevant contact information at the end of this guide.

Getting Healthcare In The Czech Republic

When you travel to the Czech Republic and require medical treatment, there is a policy in place organised by the British and Czech governments that allows free treatment from a GP or a hospital while you’re on holiday.

You are required to obtain a European Healthcare Insurance Card (EHIC) prior to travelling to the Czech Republic. It’s free and only takes around 7 days to obtain but you must have it before you arrive, otherwise you will be charged for treatment at state run medical practices.

EHIC will not cover the cost of any additional costs required to return you to the UK (like special medical flights or the cost of additional tickets if you miss your scheduled flight) or the cost of private healthcare so you should still obtain travel insurance to cover additional costs like these.

Wherever you go, you should keep your insurance documents and EHIC card with you at all times so that you can show them to staff if you do have to attend a medical facility so that you avoid having to pay for treatment.

How Long Do Victims Of Accidents Have To Claim Compensation?

As mentioned earlier in this guide, and as with every other holiday destination, the Czech Republic has its own set of time limits for making a compensation claim. These can vary, depending on the way you booked your holiday so we’ve included the details in the table below:

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The type of holiday in the Czech Republic and how you booked it The time limit allowed before making a claim
Trips booked through a UK based travel (package holiday) firm 3 Years may very
A privately or independently booked trip 2 Years may very
An accident on a flight to or from:
Brno-Turany Airport
Kunovice Airport
Vaclav Havel Airport
Leos Janacek Airport 		2 Years may very

If you’re unsure which category your accident comes under then please give us a call so that we can assess it for you.

Injury And Accident Claims In Czech We Can Help With

Claims For An Accident Or Injury On A City Break Or Package Holiday

Package holidays benefit from different regulations that the British government arranged back in the 1990s. They protect tourists who booked 2 or more of the main elements of their holiday through the same provider such as:

  • The main hotel and flights
  • The flights and excursions
  • The excursions and your hotels
  • Or The flight, hotel and excursions

When you arrive at the resort, you’ll usually have a meeting with the tour rep who’ll provide you with lots of information including an emergency contact number (or you may be emailed this prior to arriving).

As we mentioned earlier, to be eligible to make a package holiday compensation claim you must inform the rep of any accident you’re involved in to give them the opportunity to help resolve your issues while you’re still on holiday.

Either when you book your holiday, recieve your travel confirmation, or arrive at your hotel, you should have been provided with any relevant emergency numbers for your holiday company.

Hotel Accident, Illness, And Injury Claims

There are many types of hotel accident claims that we see which lead to compensation claims. There are many types and we can help with any claim where hotel staff were to blame in some way but the most common types of hotel claims we process are:

  • Food poisoning claims
  • Swimming pool and hotel gym related accidents
  • Trip, slips and falls
  • Injuries caused by damaged or faulty furniture
  • Elevators or lift based accidents

This is just a sample of the claims we can help with so please contact us, even if your accident isn’t listed.

Accidents Or Food Poisoning Caused By A Restaurant

Food poisoning is caused when food is not stored, prepared, cooked or reheated properly or is handled in unhygienic areas. It can happen at restaurants, hotels, cafés, bars or fast food outlets even where there are good hygiene policies in place (if staff don’t follow the policies for instance).

Food poisoning (and also water borne illnesses), according to the NHS, can be caused by infections including: E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter and norovirus. The common symptoms associated with food poisoning include stomach cramps, a very high temperature, diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea.

It is important, if you want to claim compensation for food poisoning, to report your symptoms to a doctor so that a medical record is created which can be used as evidence of your illness.

Holiday Injuries Caused By Falls, Slips And Trips

Probably one of the most common accidents reported while on holiday is a fall caused by slipping or tripping over. If you are to blame for the accident because you were messing around or not paying attention then you won’t be able to claim compensation but if you believe the person responsible for the location your accident happened was to blame in some way then you may be able to make a claim.

Common reasons why somebody else could’ve been negligent and caused your fall can include:

  • A trip hazard that wasn’t visible because the area was too dark due to faulty or inadequate lighting.
  • A floor that was excessively wet or slippery but there were no warning signs to highlight the problem.
  • A damaged or uneven pathway or flooring such as a raised paving slab or a damaged carpet.

Sometimes, trip and fall accidents seem like innocuous or silly accidents but they can lead to very serious injuries and result in many months of surgery to try and rectify the situation.

Common injuries caused by slips and falls include: simple fractures, complex fractures, muscle strains, soft tissue damage, spinal injuries and head injuries – all of which should be assessed by a doctor for the reasons outline above.

Outdoor Sporting Activity Claims

A lot of tourists like to take part in sporting or activity type excursions which can be great fun but if an accident occurs then they can lead to serious injuries.

If your accident was caused by the operator of the activity then it could be possible to claim against the operator or the package holiday provider, if they sold the activity to you.

Reasons why an operator may be to blame for an accident could include:

  • Incorrect or damaged safety equipment was provided for the activity.
  • The provider didn’t provide a safety demonstration or give full instructions on how to complete the activity.
  • The activity wasn’t supervised properly throughout the whole event.
  • The provider didn’t undertake a safety risk assessment of all participants prior to the event taking place (this could just be a questionnaire that each participant is asked to fill in).
  • The leader of the event wasn’t trained fully.

Essentially, the provider of the activity has a duty of care to all staff and participants. If they breach this in any way then a compensation claim could be made. Please contact Accident Claims UK to clarify if you have an eligible claim.

Czech Republic Car Accident Claims

According to one report, the Czech Republic’s roads are some of the most dangerous in the world and it is certainly true that accidents can happen. In 2013 only South Korea ranked worse (source International Road Traffic and Accident Database).

If you’re involved in a road traffic accident in the Czech Republic you should obtain the other drivers personal and insurance details, photograph the scene of the accident before the cars are moved and fill in the European accident report form with the other driver. This form is for factual information only and you shouldn’t write anything that could make you look like you’re admitting guilt or liability.

You’ll need to contact the emergency services if there are serious injuries and also you’ll need to let your car hire company know about the accident so they can advise on recovery options or where you can take the car for repairs.

How Can Accident Claims UK Help You?

Do I Have To Use A Czech Solicitor?

New clients often think that they need to use a solicitor in the Czech Republic if their accident happened there. This is simply not true and would put many off from making a claim because they would have to deal with language barriers, time zone differences and they may need to understand the Czech legal policies.

Accident Claims UK are able to help with claims using our solicitors based in the UK and are specialists in dealing with holiday accident claims for our clients.

No Win No Fee Claims For Holiday Accidents In The Czech Republic

No win no fee agreements help people to lodge a claim who may not ordinarily have claimed at all because of the worry of a large legal bill.

When you use a no win no fee solicitor, you agree that if they win compensation for you, they will retain an agreed percentage to cover their costs and send the rest of the compensation directly to you.

If they lose the case however, they don’t charge you at all for their services.

We believe that no win no fee is the fairest and most risk-free way of making a compensation claim and removes the financial barrier that prevents some from claiming.

How Our Team Could Help You After An Accident Abroad

Our panel of specialist’s personal injury solicitors only deal on a no win no fee basis. They are a professional team of friendly solicitors who are available to answer any queries during your claim and will always assess your chances of success honestly.

When you use Accident Claims UK to make a claim our claim process is always:

Edit
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.

Start Your Claim Today

Hopefully, now that you’ve read all of the details in this guide about how to claim compensation for an accident on holiday in the Czech Republic, you’d like our team at Accident Claims UK to make your claim for you.

If that’s the case, you can begin the process by contacting us by:

  • Telephone: Call us free on 0800 073 8801 today
  • Live Chat: Our team of advisors can answer queries you may have, 7 days a week
  • Email: We aim to respond to all emails sent to office@accidentclaims.co.uk within 3 hours
  • Online: Fill in this online form to begin your claim, we’ll call you back when it’s convenient for you.

Helpful Guides And Contact Details

Hopefully you’ve got all of the information you require from this guide and know whether you want to proceed with an accident claim or not. We’ve listed a few final resources below which may help you further:

British Embassy Czech Republic – Prague

Thunovska 14
118 00
Prague
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 257 40 2111
Web: www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-prague
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

Healthcare in the Czech Republic – a guide, written by the NHS, that explains the level of care provided to tourists within the Czech Republic.

Package Holiday Claims – a more detailed guide regarding the legislation surrounding package holiday claims.

Hotel Accident Claims – a guide detailing how to make a claim against a hotel and details showing how much compensation some injuries may be awarded.