A Personal Injury Claim? You may need a Local Standards Report

Many hundreds of people enjoy event-free foreign travel every year, experiencing and enjoying the culture of different countries but some tourists have the misfortune to suffer an accident whilst on their holiday. Frequently there is a liability on the part their tour company, hotel or another third party whose negligence caused or contributed to the accident. Regrettably, such organisations are rarely prepared to accept immediate responsibility for an accident without pressure being brought to bear to compel them to accept their accountability. The personal injury lawyers at Giambrone are extremely experienced in dealing with such a situation and will be able to guide you in every aspect of bringing a claim for compensation in cases where there is refusal or reluctance to acknowledge liability, as well as an attempt to throw the responsibility on to the injured party.

Our lawyers at Giambrone will set out a clear understanding of the accident and where the responsibility lies for your injuries. They will assist you to compile the evidence required to build your case. As soon as it has been agreed as to where the liability lies for your accident the following information will be extremely useful to assist the legal case when making a claim for compensation for your injuries:

• Photographic evidence of all aspects of the accident site; very often holiday photographs and videos can reveal evidence caught in the background of dangerous environments and lack of compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Photographic evidence of your clothing and footwear, particularly in the case of falls, will fend off any suggestion that you were partly responsible by reason of unsuitable shoes or restrictive clothing or clothing that was unsuitable for the activity or environment.
• Notes about the accident made in the immediate aftermath, will be extremely helpful.
• If any witnesses were approached and made written statements, this too is invaluable evidence.
• Statements from the medical or rescue team made at the time will help.
• Details of a police report of the incident is invaluable.
• Also, if the British consulate or embassy was informed this will support your claim.
• Details of the hotel/restaurant/bar/nightclub insurance and legal team will save time.

Accidents caused by avoidable risks such as poor maintenance leading to unsafe handrails, faulty lifts, or dangerous balconies, you may require a Local Standards Report to support your claim as compliant building standards vary from country to country and claims are judged on the basis of the local standards of the country. The country in which you had your accident may have considerably lower standards than your own home country and the liability is reduced or even removed if the local standards have a very low bar. The exception to this rule is unless the standards are so poor that no reasonable guest would choose to stay in the hotel and that the significantly lower safety standard resulted in the accident. 

A Local Standards Report is a comprehensive document compiled by an expert on the safety standards of the country concerned which outlines the statutory, regulatory or customary standards applicable. A Local Standards Report is a vital document as it can demonstrate that your accident would not have occurred but for the failure of the organisation concerned to adhere to the required safety standards. The Report has to be comprehensible and must consider the jurisdictions and legal ramifications relevant in the jurisdiction where the Report is to be used as evidence.

A Local Standards Report should be commissioned at the earliest opportunity so that as much of the evidence is still visible and any attempt to rectify any faulty workmanship, such as repairing a defective handrail, will not have had time to take place. On occasion, there are rare situations where a Local Standards Report is not required, for example, when the circumstances of the accident “speak for themselves” (res ipsa loquitur). In other words, the risk is blindingly obvious.

If you would like to know whether you should need a Local Standards Report please click here.