Holiday Injury Leaves Toddler Brain Damaged

Stanley Birch was on a luxury holiday with his parents at a five star resort in Bodrum, Turkey when the holiday injury took place in 2014.

Holiday injury

Stanley was lying on a sunbed when a heavy speaker fell off a nearby balcony, falling 15 meters before landing on the two year old’s head. His parent’s feared he may be dead, as he lay motionless in a pool of blood by the pool.

A doctor staying at the hotel, the Yasmin Resort in Turgutreis, picked him up and he was rushed to a nearby hospital. Staff at the Bodrum Hospital operated on Stanley for over three hours.

Severe brain damage

The two year old was left with severe brain damage after surgeons found an epidural haematoma and were required to drain excess blood off his brain. Stanley also needed 20 staples to his head and ten stiches to his face following the incident.

Now six, Stanley’s development has been affected and his parent’s say he suffers with behavioural issues as a result of his injuries. He has to attend regular monthly check ups and his brain development is closely monitored.

Holiday injury compensation from TUI

Stanley and his family are potentially now looking at a potential payout of hundreds of thousands of pounds in personal injury compensation from holiday tour operator, TUI.

Stanley’s mother, Amy, said:

‘It was horrible.

‘Stanley had just woken up, and we were by the pool a few metres from him. Then I heard this bang and everyone was screaming.

‘I turned round and saw him lying still. He was off the sun lounger, which was completely smashed. I thought he was dead.

‘He wasn’t crying, I knew something was wrong because I knew he should be crying.

‘The ambulance came and he was in and out of consciousness when they got him to the hospital.

‘He was in there for three hours where they discovered he had suffered a tear to his main artery.’

His father, Mitchell, added:

‘He is happy and doing well, and we are lucky he is alive. But no-one knows for sure if he will develop 100 percent as he should have.

‘It is very stressful thinking how what happened on that day could still change his life now.’

Thomson accepted liability last year, but it is unlikely Stanley will receive any compensation until he is at least 18. This is because professionals won’t know exactly what effect his injuries will have until he comes to key moments in his life, such as school and exams.

TUI’s response

A spokeswoman for Thomson and First Choice said:

‘We can confirm that an incident took place at the Yasmin Resort in Bodrum on 12th June 2014 and as a result a child was taken to hospital.

‘Our resort team offered every possible support and assistance at the time of and in the aftermath of the incident, conducting a full investigation to understand what happened.

‘Our Welfare Team based in the UK were also in direct contact with the customers and continued to offer the necessary support.

‘As this case is now subject to legal proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further.’

Holiday injury claims – expert advice

Holiday injury compensation may be available where your non-fault injury is the result of professional negligence at any stage of your package holiday. This also includes negligence on behalf of service providers working in conjunction with your tour operator.

If you believe that your tour operator could have taken reasonable steps towards preventing your injury, contact us today on 0800 888 6888 or email . Hampson Hughes Solicitors’ dedicated team of holiday injury solicitors could help you to secure maximum personal injury compensation.

Source: Metro