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14
Aug
Harrogate boys win £7,000 claim after glass door shatters on Jet2 holiday in Turkey
Jet2Holidays has agreed to pay £7,000 compensation to two Harrogate brothers who were injured after a steam room door suddenly “exploded”.
The boys, who were 16 and 11 at the time, were with their parents on the penultimate day of their stay at the five-star Green Nature Diamond Hotel in the popular resort of Marmaris in Turkey.
Marmaris beach in Turkey. Photo: Wikipedia Commons/Anton Lefterov.
But their 10-day holiday ended in dramatic circumstances as the glass door of a steam room shattered when they opened it.
'Carnage'
Both boys suffered cuts to various parts of their bodies, including their feet, legs and arms.
Their father, who along with his sons wished to remain anonymous, said:
We were in the hotel room when the eldest burst into the room. He was limping and there was blood everywhere.
When we got down there it just looked [like] carnage. The door had exploded and there were blood and glass all over the place.
Luckily, there was a doctor on site, and he managed to patch them up, but I wanted answers and the manager was nowhere to be seen. There were no apologies, no nothing.
It was scary, and we didn’t go on a package holiday for four years because of what happened, and the kids are still concerned about going through glass doors.
The smoked glass door shattered as the boys were leaving the steam room.
10-month battle for footage
Lawyers acting for Jet2Holidays initially denied any liability for the accident and injuries caused.
The father said:
When I got to see the CCTV when we were still on holiday, the first thing the receptionist did was put the USB stick in her pocket and said I couldn’t have it.
I didn’t know what to do. I got hold of the British Embassy in Turkey and this woman jumped in a taxi and came to get the footage. But then the hotel said she couldn’t have it unless she was with the police.
But then she came back with a police officer, and they still wouldn’t hand it over.
So, I did a bit of research and, based on GDPR (general data protection regulation), I told them it was my data, it was my children and there was no-one else in the footage, so you need to send it to us.
Eventually it arrived, but it came after 10 months of pushing and pushing and pushing.
I’m glad it did, though, because I’m 100% certain that massively helped us in the process.
Once the boys' father had finally obtained CCTV footage that showed what had happened, Jet2Holidays’ legal representatives softened their stance and agreed to a combined compensation package of £7,000.
'We hope lessons have been learned'
The family was represented by Anne Thomson, a senior litigation executive specialising in accidents abroad at Hudgell. She said:
The two boys only suffered mild injuries, but this must have been a terrifying experience that stayed with them for a long time.
The CCTV footage makes for especially uncomfortable viewing and underscores just how fortunate the brothers were to have avoided serious injury.
We were disappointed with Jet2Holidays’ lackadaisical approach to genuine demand for answers, just as we were with the hotel’s baffling decision to not surrender the footage for so long.
Under ‘2018 Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations’, it is implied that Jet2 exercise reasonable care and skill, not least by ensuring the safety and well-being of their customers.
This did not happen. They eventually made a satisfactory out-of-court settlement, but we hope lessons have been learned to ensure potentially frightful incidents like this are eradicated in hotels with which they are associated.
'Sorry'
The Stray Ferret contacted Jet2 for comment. A spokesperson said:
We can confirm that we have reached a settlement in relation to an incident which occurred in 2022.
The health and safety of our customers is extremely important to us, and we would like to reiterate how sorry we are about this incident.
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