Travel firm liable for woman's injuries in Spain

The Supreme Court has found a package holiday operator here is liable for injuries suffered by a woman who fell on a slippery floor in a Spanish hotel during a holiday organised by the company.

In a judgment clarifying the rights of consumers and duties of tour operators under the relevant law, the three-judge court yesterday dismissed an appeal by Falcon Leisure Group (Overseas) Ltd against a High Court award of €32,477 in damages to Mary Scaife over the accident in May 1998.

In this case, the High Court was correct in applying a reasonable care test and had also correctly decided the Spanish hotel proprietor had failed to exercise reasonable skill and care in dealing with the spillage.

Liability was not confined to ensuring the hotel structure was safe, the judge had stressed. In this case, the contract was for travel and hotel accommodation on a half-board basis, including evening meals, and it was an implied term that the meal would be provided with reasonable skill and care.

The evidence was that a liquid substance measuring some 30in in diameter had fallen on the hard marble floor while staff were clearing away food; that it was not possible for Ms Scaife to have seen it; and that there was no warning it was there. While the manager had signalled to staff to clear the spillage, that had not happened before Ms Scaife fell.

The case centred on interpretation of the 1995 Holidays and Travel Trade Act, which transposed into Irish law an EU directive relating to liability for accidents on package holidays.

Ms Justice Fidelma Macken, with whose judgment Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman and Mr Justice Nial Fennelly agreed, said Ms Scaife, through a travelling companion, had entered into a written agreement with Falcon for a package holiday for May 1998 involving flights and half-board accommodation at Cambrils Princess Hotel in Salou, Spain.

On May 21st, 1998, while walking to a buffet table to serve herself at an evening meal in the hotel, Ms Scaife fell on soup or sauce spilled on the marble floor behind a pillar and suffered physical injuries.

The High Court found she could not have seen the spilled liquid and had no warning of its existence until she fell.

Mr Justice Daniel Herbert ruled that, under Section 20 of the 1995 Act, Falcon was liable for the wrongful acts of the hotel owner and Ms Scaife was entitled to recover damages from Falcon.

While Falcon itself had done nothing wrong whatsoever, the High Court said Falcon had to accept responsibility for somebody providing a service that did not properly perform the holiday contract.