Alexander Harris Solicitors
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Janet's Story

Janet was on holiday in Canada with her husband. They were visiting the beautiful area of Banff in the province of Alberta. They had enjoyed four wonderful days of their fortnight holiday before the accident occurred.

One evening, they decided to have a meal at a local Steakhouse Restaurant. The restaurant was busy at the time and it took approximately 30 minutes for them to be allocated a table. The table they were seated at was next to an aisle which was used by the waiting staff to travel to and from the kitchens.

Janet was seated with her back to the aisle and her husband was facing the aisle. Whilst eating their meal, a waiter carrying a tray at shoulder height lost his balance and tipped the contents of his tray directly onto Janet.

The tray contained pots of boiling water, which unfortunately were tipped down Janet's back. This resulted in extensive and severe scalding to the upper and mid back area.

Treatment was given to Janet promptly at the scene of the incident and she was then treated at the local hospital.

This incident totally spoilt their holiday. They had arrived only 4 days previously and had another 11 days of their holiday remaining.

When they returned to the UK, Janet and her husband made a claim to their insurance company under the legal expenses section of their policy to pursue an action for personal injury and consequential losses. The policy provided for an indemnity regarding their legal expenses of £5,000. Some travel insurance policies actually provide a greater level of indemnity, sometimes as much as £50,000.

When the insurance company received their application it was referred to Alexander Harris to investigate the matter. This case was referred to Alexander Harris due to the specialist nature of our work and our experience of North American litigation.

As soon as instructions were received, Alexander Harris proceeded to approach a respected law firm in Alberta. This law firm was found in the ATLA Guide (American Trial Lawyers Association), of which Ann Alexander, Daniel Simons and David Harris of Alexander Harris are members.

Instructions were given to the Canadian lawyers to handle the liability aspects of the case in Canada. They agreed to act on a Contingency Fee basis. Whilst the Canadian lawyers were handling the liability matters in Canada, Alexander Harris dealt with obtaining all the relevant condition and prognosis evidence to substantiate the claim.

The Canadian lawyers liaised with the Loss Adjusters for the Steakhouse Restaurant and it was established that liability was not going to be an issue.

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The Claim - Medical Evidence

Alexander Harris instructed a Consultant Dermatologist to provide a condition and prognosis report regarding the scalding that Janet had sustained to her back. This report confirmed that she was going to have some scarring on her back which would result in a cosmetic defect which would never totally resolve. The dermatologist confirmed that the scarring would persist for the rest of her life and it would be unlikely that these areas would tan normally.

He confirmed that the areas of scarring would continue to be sensitive, especially when wearing clothing made from fabric such as wool.

Once this report had been obtained, it was forwarded to the Canadian lawyers together with all the relevant medical records and the Canadian lawyers proceeded to value the claim in accordance with their provincial principles.

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Settlement

As liability was not in question, Alexander Harris compiled a schedule which detailed what they felt Janet and her husband should receive compensation for. This included:

Negotiations commenced with the Loss Adjusters for the Steakhouse Restaurant and a successful settlement was reached in the sum of $25,000.

Comment from Alex

Virtual Alex

This case highlights how there can be recourse even when an accident has taken place outside of the UK. However one important factor in this case which enabled the swift and successful settlement, was that the insurance company referred Janet and her husband to solicitors at Alexander Harris who were not only specialists in personal injury, but who also had a great deal of experience in overseas compensation claims. This meant that the claim was investigated fully to ensure that the compensation available was maximised. In addition the claim was settled in a reasonable time scale and was not prolonged unnecessarily, thus not further adding to the distress that Janet and her Husband had already suffered.

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Glossary Terms

The Indemnity
The indemnity is the level of cover afforded to the policy holder. Providing that the provisions of the policy are complied with, the insurance company will pay for all legal expenses up to the limit of the indemnity.
Alexander Harris
Alexander Harris have a specialist Overseas Injury Department headed up by an American Trial Lawyer. This means that the Department is able to provide specialist advice not only in terms of the personal injury but also because they have a great deal of experience and expertise handling cases where holiday makers and business travellers have been injured whilst overseas.
Liability
This means that the Canadian Lawyers were instructed to investigate who was responsible for the accident.
Contingency Fee
This meant that a percentage deduction would be made from Janet and her husband's compensation in order to pay for the lawyers costs in investigating this claim. However, this would be recoverable from the insurance company under the terms of their insurance policy (subject to not exceeding the level of indemnity).
Provincial Principles
The law varies from country to country and in the US from State to State. Bringing cases where injury has occurred overseas can be very complex and should always.
General damages
General damages, is the sum awarded for the individual's pain and suffering and loss of amenity. In order to quantify this, the solicitor needs to obtain a medical report which will detail the client's previous history, circumstances of the accident, injury received, and prognosis for the future. By comparing the medical evidence to previous cases a solicitor should be able to estimate the amount of money to be awarded. Calculating general damages is not an exact science and it is very difficult for a solicitor to be able to advise a client from the outset of the amount of damages they will receive. be handled by a specialist who has experience of the law in different countries.
Consortium
Loss of consortium means the loss of a fulfilling and enjoyable relationship sustained by Janet's husband as a result of Janet's injury. A claim for this head of loss is something which is not recognised in this country.
Special damages
Special damages are all the expenses which have been incurred as a result of the accident. This can include loss of earnings, prescription charges, over the counter medicine, loss of overtime and care and assistance if the individual has had to be cared for by a family member. Also under this heading, it is possible to claim for future losses such as future loss of earnings if the individual's ability to work in the future has been affected. Special damages should be supported as far as possible by documentary evidence. Somebody bringing a claim for personal injury must try and ensure that they keep a comprehensive list and receipts for all expenses incurred.

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