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‘You’ve missed a bit’, a phrase our solicitors in Preston, and we suspect many of you reading this blog, have had entrenched in our brains and down our ears by loved ones whilst on holiday to stop the sun burning us. Whilst we are all careful, sun burn is something that sometimes, is to be expected in the hot weather. Our accident injury solicitors, and again many of you, however, would in no way expect chemical burns to be something we need to watch out for. Nor was this the case for one family who were enjoying a holiday in Lanzarote. 
 
We all know that, when on holiday with young children (and in many cases, the adults too), the first thing they want to do is a ‘belly flop’ straight into the swimming pool to cool off. Esme Law, aged four, was the same and was enjoying playing in the pool at the Villa the family were staying at. 
Esme began to complain to her mother that her arms and legs were sore which, upon removing her floating aids, burns on her arms, neck and legs became apparent. It transpired that the burns were thought to be caused as a result of a chemical imbalance in the pool. As the holiday went on, the wounds gradually got worse and, with open wounds on her thighs, Esme was unable to walk or sit down without agonising pain. Esme’s parents tried various aids, including Calpol, Sudocrem and cooling spray which all proved ineffective. In the end, the family called the holiday rep and insisted that a doctor come out and visit which, particularly whilst changing dressings, was very stressful and painful experience for Esme. It would be fair to say that the injury had ruined the holiday not just for Esme, but also for her family. 
 
Attempts were made to alleviate the issue by moving the family to a different Villa, however, this then meant that the family were no longer within walking distance of the amenities and attractions that had led the family to book the original villa in the first instance. To add insult to the injury (quite literally), Esme was unable to walk without her legs touching and the wounds causing unbearable pain for her. This, unfortunately, meant that the family were restricted in what they could do from then on for the remainder of the trip. 
 
As we all know, swimming pools need to be kept clean to avoid spread of infection, which does mean that there are various chemicals pumped into the same, inclusive of Chlorine. There should, however, be a certain balance in the water’s PH which, in this case, was evidently not present. There was a duty of care owed to Esme and her family, to ensure that the water within that pool was safe. Our personal injury solicitors Preston are of the opinion that this duty has been breached. 
 
It took around four months, upon the family returning home from their holiday, for the wounds to fully heal and Esme is, sadly, still scarred as a result. She now has a fear of swimming, which she used to love, and says “what if I get burnt again?” when asked if she wants to go swimming. 
 
The case is ongoing and James Villa holidays have failed to comment on the situation, other than stating that they “take the welfare of all our customers extremely seriously and all our pools are subject to laws and regulations set out by the countries in which we operate.”. 
 
Our accident claim solicitors will be following this case to observe the outcome reached. Keep up with us by keeping tabs on our legal news section, on our website, by following the link below: 
 
 
If you have been victim of an incident, which was not your fault, and has resulted in an injury, within the last three years, contact our accident injury solicitors today at injury@mglegal.co.uk and our team will be on hand to assist. 
 
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