A group of 40 holiday makers are suing their travel company for compensation after becoming ill on holiday in the Dominican Republic.

The group stayed at the Bahia Principe Hotel, at San Juan in the Dominican Republic on an all-inclusive basis. The four star resort however, has been reported to have served up some less than acceptable standards.

Holidaymakers report being served undercooked food on dirty plates and cutlery. They also claim birds, insects and mice were not cleared from the restaurant even getting onto the buffet food. They allege that tap water was masqueraded as bottled water and that the pool was contaminated with faeces.

The holidaymakers all suffered from acute gastro-enteritis from the standard of hygiene in the hotel. Symptoms included severe diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

They are now attempting to claim compensation from the tour operator TUI Ltd. TUI runs operations world wide and operates under the brand name of First Choice in the UK. First Choice has admitted liability for a number of instances of illness at the resort and in a statement reiterated its commitment to ensuring strict health and hygiene standards in resorts it uses.

Greater Manchester Police have been forced to pay compensation to a group of 80 fans who they locked in a pub before a game.

The group of 80 Stoke City supporters had travelled up to Manchester to see their team take on Manchester United in November 2008. They were in the pub in Irlam, Manchester when the Police acted.

The GMP told them they were not allowed to leave the pub or even use the pub toilets, instead they were told they had to urinate into cups. They were then put onto coaches and taken back to the centre of Stoke and released there.

The steps were taken by the Police under the new Violent Crime Reduction Act which gives them powers to stop disorder.

However, the landlord of the pub wrote to the police commending the behaviour of the fans and claiming there was no chance of trouble occurring. The Police has apologised to the fans for “acting erroneously” and not fully understanding the new powers. They are paying compensation of £184,850 between the 80 fans.

To make the day worse for the fans, their team got beat 5-0 by Manchester United.

The family of a boy, who is severely disabled due to mistakes in his birth, have won a compensation claim for negligence from the NHS.

Jensen Carter was born at University Hospital Durham during 2003. Due to a delay in his delivery, he was starved of oxygen in the womb and as a result was born with cerebral palsy and brain damage. He now has problems with speech, and his cerebral palsy affects all four of his limbs.

Liability for the delay in his birth had already been admitted by County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust, but a substantial figure of compensation has now been awarded at London’s High Court. Although the figure has not been released, it is common for birth injury compensation settlements to run into the millions. They also usually consist of a lump sum payment, with annual payments to follow that cover the cost of care.

County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust issued an apology to Jensen and his family and wished them the best for the future. His mum has set up a fund to help the school that Jensen attends – Percy Hedley School – which has helped her son so much. The appeal has already raised £500,000 for the specialist school.

Lancashire schools have paid out £500,000 in accident compensation in the last four year period.

These compensation payments are for a variety of accident types, including slip and trip accidents. A substantial £171,722 was paid out in the last year alone. The figures, reported recently in The Chorley Citizen Newspaper, reveal some interesting cases.

The highest payout was made to a teacher in Preston who suffered from industrial asthma. In Pendle, a pupil was awarded £26,500 after suffering a trapped limb in an accident. Another pupil, this time in Burnley was paid £22,000 after being injured after slipping on school grounds.

Most of the claims however, are made up of smaller settlements and incidents. These include the £2,500 awarded for an accident with a needle stick. Another incident involves a teacher being given £3,500 after being hit with an object.

The money paid out in these claims does not come out of the school’s budget directly. Instead, it is paid by the schools liability insurance company.

A former prisoner who won the right to make a compensation claim after being diagnosed with breast cancer has had that decision quashed.

Cheryl Carter was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after being released from prison in 2005. She went to prison medical staff three times before her release worried about a lump on her right breast. The prison staff did not find any abnormality and did not refer her to a specialist.

Earlier this year she was successful in a High Court case which argued that had she been referred to a specialist earlier she would have been given a better prognosis than the one she received some six months later after her release. This gave her the right to claim compensation for the prisons negligence.

However, the Appeal Court has just overcome that decision by ruling that any negligence was not present in law. The Law Lord who ruled in the case – Lord Justice Leveson – described his regret and sympathy at the decision but concluded that there was no negligence in law on behalf of the prison doctor.

A young victim of assault has been denied criminal injury compensation for his ordeal.

Matthew Robinson was the victim of an attack in Leek, Staffordshire. The 21 year old reported to The Sentinel newspaper that his attacker took exception to him socialising with his ex-girlfriend.

He was pushed to the floor, kicked and stamped on repeatedly. He suffered cuts and bruises but luckily was not seriously injured. His attacker Andrew Ferns was sentenced to 9 months in a young offenders institute after pleading guilty to assault.

Despite having to take days off work to recover and despite suffering £400 damage to his car from the attacker, Matthew has been denied compensation for the incident. He made a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, who compensate victims of crime.

However, compensation from CICA has a minimum limit of £1,000, meaning that the injuries sustained must be serious enough to warrant this minimum amount. Mr Robinson underwent a medical assessment but was not deemed to be seriously injured enough to be awarded compensation.

A group of holidaymakers who suffered a vacation from hell in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh are suing their travel agent for package holiday compensation.

The group, around a dozen strong are suing well known high street firm, First Choice Holidays. They all stayed at the all-inclusive resort of Red Sea Holiday Village in Sharm El Sheikh during the second half of 2008, and all complain of suffering serious cases of gastro-enteritis (severe vomiting and diarrhoea). Many of the holidaymakers developed serious gastro illnesses such as salmonella and C Difficile.

These illnesses which understandably destroyed many holidays were all caused directly by the lack of basic hygiene in the resort itself. The group allege to suffering and seeing numerous practices ongoing in the resort including, letting insects onto the buffet, serving raw meat, using unwashed glasses and failing to clean vomit from the restaurant floor correctly. They also claim to have seen faeces being fished out of the swimming pool while guests were still swimming in it, and being served bottled water which had broken lids as they had been refilled.

Because of its then contract with the resort, First Choice has admitted liability in a writ presented to the High Court in London. No compensation has been awarded yet however, as the amounts due to the individual holidaymakers are still being decided.

A widow has continued a legal battle after her husband’s death and won an industrial deafness claim on his behalf.

Thomas Keefe worked for 35 years on the Steam Packet ferry between Liverpool and the Isle of Man. He worked in the kitchens as a cook as the ferries repeatedly crossed the Irish Sea.

In 2004 he launched an industrial deafness claim against the Steam Packet Company after discovering he had noise induced hearing loss. Unfortunately though, Mr Keefe passed away before the end of his long legal case. His widow Carol did not give up on the cause and has just won £3180 in compensation for his injuries.

Manx Radio reports that the Court of Appeal in London ruled in favour of Ms Keefe after an initial decision had favoured the company. In addition to paying compensation, the Steam Packet company has also been ordered to pay the legal costs of the case, which due to the unusual length of the battle are expected to be anywhere in the region of £20,000 to £50,000.

The family of a teenager who tragically passed away in a Yorkshire Hospital are making a medical negligence claim alleging sub-standard treatment.

Laura Garner sadly passed away last September after being admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary. The 18 year old trainee hairdresser died some 24 hours after her admittance, after no diagnosis had been made as to her condition. She was suffering from sepsis and acute pyelonephritis, a serious infection of the kidney.

Her parents, Steve and Anne, claim she received poor treatment at the Hospital and that her life could have been saved. They allege that a report made after her death states that Laura was not given the antibiotics she needed by the hospital. It is also in the report that her temperature, pulse and breathing were not recorded for 12 hours on the day before her death. The Hospital’s own report states that there were “deficiencies in basic medical processes” in the treatment of Laura.

The couple are now planning a legal case against Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who runs the Hospital. They are attempting to claim compensation for the untimely and needless death of their daughter.

A man who accidentally set himself alight before claiming he was kidnapped has been jailed at Manchester Crown Court.

Stephen Thornley reported to Police that he had been kidnapped in the back of a Ford Transit van by masked criminals. They then he said proceeded to douse him in petrol before setting him alight and throwing him out of the back doors.

In fact, as Police discovered, the actual events were very different. A stolen burnt out van was found with Mr Thornley’s house keys still in it. It was then proved in Court that Mr Thornley had actually set himself on fire, accidentally while attempting to dispose of the stolen vehicle. It is thought a petrol back draft fireball hit him causing 40% burns to his body and legs.

Mr Thornley fraudulently tried to make a £30,000 criminal injury compensation claim for his injuries with his fake kidnap story. He has just been sentenced to two years incarceration for arson, two years for perverting the course of justice and six months for fraud. The sentences will run concurrently. Mr Thornley already had a long criminal record of 52 offences and 23 court appearances for crimes such as motor vehicle theft.