Tour Co Responsible For injury – Standards Applied
The claimant suffered an injury tripping at a hotel on a package holiday. The company now appealed.
Held: The appeal was refused. A term will generally be implied into a contract for services by operation of law (the 1982 Act s 13) to the effect that those services are to be performed with reasonable skill and care and contracts for the provision of package holidays are typically contracts of ‘vicarious performance’. The scope of the reasonable care and skill implied term is now such that the organiser has an obligation to provide the services under the contract with reasonable care and skill regardless of the party to whom the organiser delegates performance of those obligations. The question before the court involves consideration of the alleged breach of an obligation governed by English law, but performed abroad. No questions of private international law arise.
The court will not automatically apply the standards that would pertain if the performance were in England. To the contrary, the court will regard the standards prevailing in the place of performance as ‘a very important signpost’ in determining the content of the obligation.
If it can be shown that the standards prevailing in the place of performance have been infringed, then it seems to me that the organiser’s English law obligation to exercise reasonable skill and care will almost inevitably also be breached, but not in the reverse. Here, the safety regulations in Mauritius as to external lighting applicable in hotels was unclear.
Marcus Smith J
[2020] EWHC 2944 (Ch)
Bailii
Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 13
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Wong Mee Administratrix of The Estate of Ho Shui Yee, Deceased v Kwan Kin Travel Services Ltd, China Travel Services Co (Zhong Shan) And, Pak Tang Lake Travel Services Co (Doumen County) Co PC 6-Nov-1995
The appellant’s daughter died in an accident whilst on holiday in China from Hong Kong on a trip booked with the respondent.
Held: Lord Slynn said: ‘ . . the issue is thus whether . . [the package tour operator] undertook no more than that . .
Cited – Wilson v Best Travel Ltd 1993
The Greek hotel at which the plaintiff stayed had glass patio doors fitted with ordinary glass, not safety glass, of 5mm thickness, which complied with Greek but not with British safety standards, which would have required the use of safety glass. . .
Cited – Morgan v TUI UK Ltd Misc 12-Jun-2020
The claimant as injured walking back along a terrace on a holiday put together by the defendant package holiday company.
Held: The claim succeeded. . .
Appeal from – Morgan v TUI UK Ltd Misc 12-Jun-2020
The claimant as injured walking back along a terrace on a holiday put together by the defendant package holiday company.
Held: The claim succeeded. . .
Cited – Evans v Kosmar Villa Holidays Plc CA 23-Oct-2007
The claimant sought damages from the tour operator after he suffered a head injury resulting in incomplete tetraplegia after diving into a shallow swimming pool in the early hours of the morning in a resort in Greece while on a tour run by the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Personal Injury, Consumer
Updated: 09 November 2021; Ref: scu.655632