Legal News

A father from Peterborough in Cambridgeshire who broke his leg in six places after being catapulted from a water slide into a swimming pool wall at the Turkish resort of Altinkum has still not received compensation from tour operator First Choice two years after the holiday accident.

Des Jarvis, 46, shattered his leg in six places and doctors had to break some of the bones in three places to pin it back together again using 18 metal pins and rods. Mr Jarvis had to have part of the tibia in his leg removed and his right leg is now two inches shorter than his left one.

The former window fitter and father-of-two has been told that he will never work again.

Mr Jarvis underwent a total of five operations after he developed a bone infection in his right leg.

He was using the water slide at Didim Beach Resort in Altinkum at the time of his holiday accident.

However, the end of the chute was too short for the speed at which Mr Jarvis travelled down the slide – and instead of landing in the water, he was thrown against one of the walls in the swimming pool.

It is reported that five other holidaymakers have also been injured on the water slide at Didim Beach Resort – and there is video footage of another holidaymaker allegedly narrowly avoiding having the same accident as Mr Jarvis after being catapulted off the end of the chute.

A spokesman for First Choice said:

“We are sorry to hear about the injuries sustained by Mr Jarvis, while he was holidaying at the Wasd Didim Beach Hotel in Turkey in 2012.

”As the matter in question is currently subject to a legal process, it would be inappropriate of us to comment any further at this time.

“Our legal team is in direct contact with Mr Jarvis’ solicitors.

”We would like to reassure customers that incidents of this type are very rare – the health and safety of our customers is of paramount importance to First Choice and we operate the strictest quality standards across all of our hotels.”

Mr Jarvis says that whereas once he was very active he had missed his children’s childhood as a result of his injuries – and he is constantly battling with “pain and emotion”. He is also unable to leave his house because his leg is still healing in a cage and he is only able to wear pyjamas over it.

Mr Jarvis’s girlfriend Nikki has now virtually become his carer.

“I have no life anymore,” said Mr Jarvis.

“I can't go out, get dressed, socialise – nothing. It's just like being in purgatory, but with added pain. I don't want anyone else to go through this hell.”

BBC TV programme Holiday Hit Squad has investigated Mr Jarvis’s story and the programme’s experts say that the water slide breaches health and safety standards in Turkey.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors – Holiday Accidents & Injury

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise holidaymakers injured on package holidays how to make a no win no fee compensation claim for Holiday Accident & Injuries.

Holidaymakers who book package holidays are protected under the Package Travel Regulations 1992 – and claimants have three years from the date of injury to make a compensation claim.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee claims for Holiday Accidents & Injury contact Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.