Thomsons pay compensation for child's 'holiday from hell' fall
After a six year battle, Thomson Holidays have agreed a settlement with the south London family whose daughter fell 30 feet from her hotel window.
Posted on 17 March 2004
Thomson Holidays have agreed an out of court settlement with the Oikelome family from south London after a 6 year legal battle.
Amie Oikelome was injured when she fell 30 feet onto concrete steps out of an open low window in her Tenerife hotel. The holiday was booked through Thomson Holidays. The hotel, which was advertised as a family friendly hotel, had been used by Thomsons for many years prior to the accident at New Year 1997.
It came to light, during the legal battle, that an almost identical accident had happened at the same hotel to another young holidaymaker some years before. However, this had not led to safety measures such as restraining catches on the windows or safety nets to prevent falls, being taken. This was despite the fact that many of the staff employed at the time of Amie's accident were also employed at the time of the earlier accident.
Thomsons denied liability throughout the court action.
The accident has affected the whole family quite markedly.
Amie's mother, Yvonne, said: "It was not just the fact that my daughter was seriously hurt and that I felt that the holiday company did nothing to help me, but the fact that the accident was so easy to prevent.
“A simple catch, or a net over the drop would have prevented the heartache and worry that we went through as a family for the week that Amie was in intensive care, and beyond.
“Then to find out that there had been an almost identical accident some years before and nothing had been done really made my blood boil. I felt as if Thomsons was simply saying to us that they did not care about our safety".
The earlier accident came to light as a result of Yvonne's appearance on ITV's "Holidays from Hell", to explain her concerns over the lack of safety.
The settlement was approved by the Central London County Court.
"Its not the money" said Yvonne. "Its the recognition that an accident occurred which should have been prevented. I wouldn't wish the pain that we have gone through on anyone else."
The family were represented by Leigh Day solicitors.
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