Trauma support in the wake of Wilma.

Having just expanded our Trauma Support division with the appointment of Jo Crofts as Head of Trauma Support, we’re watching with interest the outcome of legal proceedings which have been launched against the big four tour operators and Cosmos and Portland Direct.

Following Hurricane Wilma last October around 300 holidaymakers stranded in Cancun have put in a group claim for compensation, with some seeking redress for personal injury and post traumatic stress.

It’s the claim for the latter that interests us the most. It has been argued that it was reasonable to send people to Mexico, as the hurricane behaved abnormally and to a large extent relief efforts were taken out of the operators’ control.

As hurricanes are a relatively frequent in this part of the world it is difficult to know what is the best way to respond. In hindsight - an exact science we admit, would some of the people seeking compensation feel differently if they had been given more psychological and emotional support at the time or immediately after?

Whilst it is never going to be possible to eliminate litigation, at docleaf, we have come across many situations where litigation ensued because people felt that the corporate responsible was not caring nor compassionate in the way it dealt with those involved in the aftermath of something gone wrong. We are not for one moment suggesting that was the case in this scenario, but it does highlight the need to have appropriately trained and skilled people available around the clock to deal with such situations.

 > Back to top

When is a package not a package?

At a recent internal meeting we were debating the definition of packaging, as currently some online travel suppliers believe that they are not subject to the Package Travel Regulations because they issue split invoices for the separate components that they are selling.

This means that when some thing goes wrong these companies believe that they are not responsible for looking after customers. Our eagle eyed H&S Consultant Ken Coules clarified the situation with this paragraph in the Package Travel Regulations 1992.

"package" means the pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following components when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of more than twenty-four hours or includes overnight accommodation:—
(a) transport;

(b) accommodation;

(c) other tourist services not ancillary to transport or accommodation and accounting for a significant proportion of the package,

and

(i) the submission of separate accounts for different components shall not cause the arrangements to be other than a package;

(ii) the fact that a combination is arranged at the request of the consumer and in accordance with his specific instructions (whether modified or not) shall not of itself cause it to be treated as other than pre-arranged;

 > Back to top