Another holiday injury compensation claim against Red Sea hotel – this time for teenager
An Egyptian hotel frequently the scene of holiday accidents is once more subject to a damages claim – on this occasion by a British teenager who was hurt while using the hotel’s swimming pool.
When the accident occurred in July 2014, the teen was holidaying with her family at Coral Sea Waterworld, located at the popular Red Sea resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Sucked into filter
Simpson Millar’s Claire Rabbetts said our client, who at 16 was legally a minor, was using the hotel swimming pool when she was suddenly sucked by her thigh and upper leg into the pool filtration system.
“The filter was a large round pipe which sat flush with the wall,” noted Claire, who is pursuing a compensation claim against the hotel and its UK agent.
“It’s understood the system was sucking inwards instead of circulating and blowing out.”
Uncapped ‘evening’ system caused accident
The filter’s suction was powerful enough to drag the teenager under the water. Although eventually the filtration system was switched off, our client could not be freed for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
It is believed a water-sucking evening pump had been left running in error, creating the hazard. Since the filtration system was uncapped, anything adjacent to the filter was liable to be sucked in.
Pain, bruising and shock
The incident caused the teenager to suffer severe pain, swelling and bruising to her upper thigh in the shape of the filter, which was approximately 12-15cm circular.
“She was left in shock,” Claire said. “As she believed she was going to drown, the experience was highly traumatic.”
Family also affected
The youngster’s family, who in due course were obliged to provide their daughter with additional care, were also left shaken.
“Unassisted by hotel staff, it was left to the family to rescue their daughter themselves,” Claire said. “Naturally this was itself traumatic, owing to the length of time taken for the pool filters to be shut down.
“The whole time the family were trying to keep their daughter afloat and her head above the surface of the water.”
An “unbelievable” situation
“It is frankly unbelievable that the filtration system worked so badly,” Claire observed. “This incident could have been fatal for a younger child, or someone who was physically smaller than our client.”
The teenager is not alone in having encountered problems at Coral Sea Waterworld. “Simpson Millar is already acting for hundreds of holidaymakers following an illness outbreak here during the same period,” Claire said.
“This incident further fuels the idea that guests of this hotel are as likely to be exposed to poor safety standards as not.”
At time of writing, we are pursuing a personal injury damages claim, under Package Travel Regulations, against the 4-star all-inclusive Coral Sea Waterworld and its UK representative TUI UK Limited.