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Home / Update and Advice/ Accidents on holiday can be tricky |
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Accidents on holiday can be trickyWritten by: Jonathan Finebaum |
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We’re getting to that time of year again when just about everyone who is planning to get away this summer has by now booked their tickets. But what happens if you’re in Europe and get injured in a road accident through no fault of your own?
To begin with EU law allows foreign claimants to bring direct actions against the insurers of drivers in any EU Member State. This is instantly good news because it will allows a claimant to bring a claim in the English courts against a European insurer. However, the law in this area is tricky and can be contradictory.
The problem with claims arising from injuries sustained in Europe is that they can involve a battle for jurisdiction between the English and foreign courts. For example, while the Court of Appeal unanimously ruled last year that the assessment of damages should be determined by reference to English law, potentially both English and the other Member State’s law will be relevant to the award of interest. Finally, accidents which occur after 20 August 2007 will be treated differently as a result of a change to EU law which states that 'the law applicable shall be the law of the country in which the damage occurs irrespective of the country in which the event giving rise to the damage occurred and irrespective of the country or countries in which the direct consequences of that event occur'.
So what can we take from these developments? Well, the good news is that if you are involved in an accident on holiday in Europe, then you can bring a claim against the negligent party’s insurer from the UK. What will need to be analysed to some degree of detail however is the level of damages and interest available and the applicable law. Our Personal Injury specialist, Jonathan Finebaum, can assist you with all aspects of Personal Injury matters and he can be reached on jfinebaum@adamslaw.co.uk or 020 7790 2000. |
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