How Brexit may affect Compensation Claims for Accidents that occur on Holiday in Europe

Brexit is expected to bring many changes to the UK, there are concerns about log-jams at ports, food shortages, a medical supplies shortfall and many other things.  Something that may have been overlooked is how Brexit will affect individuals who have the misfortune to have an accident on holiday, through no fault of their own and their ability to claim compensation.  Currently when a UK resident has an accident which takes place within the European Union, once the injured party has returned home and decides to claim compensation for the injuries and the ruined holiday, a piece of EU legislation known as the Recast Regulation enables UK residents to pursue legal action in the courts of England and Wales against the person or organisation that is considered responsible for the accident. A significant number of UK residents are injured, to a greater or lesser degree, whilst on holiday in Europe every year due to a third party’s negligence. After Brexit, the ability to litigate from the English and Welsh courts through Recast Regulation to obtain compensation from a European based person or entity will be lost.  At the present time, nothing has been put in place to reinstate a similar facility to the Recast Regulation and there does not appear to be anything scheduled in the near future.

Without the ability to obtain compensation through the courts of England and Wales it could mean that the injured person their family will believe that they face having to travel back to the country in which the accident occurred or that it is simply not possible for them to bring a claim which will result in them losing the opportunity to receive compensation for their injuries. Clearly, this would be grossly unfair and lead to the UK’s resources being used for basic care for the injured individual’s ongoing health care when the liability insurer or the individual or business responsible should be made responsible for their negligent actions.

There is an alternative approach, legal action can be achieved by instructing a cross-border law firm, such as Giambrone, that has offices in the UK and across Europe with a team of excellent personal injury lawyers with the capacity pursue a third party through the courts in their home country whilst liaising with an injured client through the UK offices.  Our multi-lingual, multi-jurisdictional lawyers will be able to provide a seamless service from Brexit Day onwards removing the requirement for the injured party to travel to abroad.  The consequences of an individual’s or an organisation’s negligence, inattention and carelessness can be devastating to the victim and very often there is an urgent need for speed of action on two counts, first to provide sufficient funds to enable the best medical attention to be delivered to the injured party to speed their recovery and secondly orchestrating the provision of the best therapy to enable them to improve their restore their capacity and get back to leading a full life.  Legal action in the country where the accident took place with lawyers who have legal expertise together with cultural knowledge of the country concerned providing a direct voice for the injured party, frequently results in a better settlement almost certainly a faster settlement than having to go through a convoluted two court process with two sets of lawyers.

Should you want to know more about Giambrone’s personal injury team please click here.