A woman who was left paralysed after a snowmobile accident is to
receive the majority of her compensation bid, the High Court
ruled.
Mother-of-two Emma Moore, 41, was paralysed from the chest down
during a "ski-doo sensation" activity at the Italian resort of
Paradiso Passo Tonale in January 2007.
The former personal trainer, from Denton, Northants, claimed
that she was given virtually no safety instruction and was not told
what to do in case of emergency.
Hotelplan Ltd, trading as Inghams Travel, denied liability and
said that any blame lay with snowmobile supplier Adriano Tantera,
who claimed he gave proper instructions.
Mr Justice Owen ruled that the former personal trainer should
receive 70% of the award and said he was satisfied that the
arrangements made between the members of the party and the tour rep
amounted to a contract for the supply of the excursion.
Accordingly, the company was liable to Mrs Moore under the terms
of the contract for injury caused by the lack of reasonable care
and skill on the part of Mr Tantera who, he found, caused the
accident by his failure to give Mrs Moore instructions about the
emergency cut-off button.
The amount of compensation will be assessed at a later date.
Spine Injury
Association