Hudgell Solicitors

Travel - Serious Injury Abroad

Head of Travel Litigation

Paul is a highly-experienced and respected travel litigation solicitor who qualified in 2001. He was recruited to head Hudgell Solicitors’ work in representing people who suffer serious injuries abroad in 2017.

An expert in international, cross border laws, Paul specialises in leading representation on complex and high-value cases across Europe and the world, representing people who have sustained spinal and brain injuries, and families who have lost relatives as a result of incidents abroad whilst working in another country or on holiday.

Many of Paul’s cases involve issues concerning jurisdiction and applicable law, and he also acts on behalf of people in group action claims and former British servicemen who were stationed as the US military training base Camp Lejeune and were affected by the contaminated of drinking water.

Career Highlights

I acted for a child who was three-years old when involved in a road traffic accident in Spain, suffering significant spinal and urological injuries. The case involved complex issues concerning the applicable law but we successfully persuaded the English court that English Law should apply to determine the amount of compensation that should be awarded. This made a very significant difference to the increased amount of rehabilitation, care and case management that could be provided to the child. The case ultimately settled for a multi-million pound figure.

I was also involved in a case where a woman was seriously injured by an explosion at a Spanish hotel which left her in a coma and with a serious head injury which required brain surgery. The case could only be brought directly against the Spanish hotel’s insurer and, although the seriousness of her injuries put the value of her claim in excess of £1 million, further complications were faced as the maximum level of cover against the hotel’s insurer under the insurance policy was €300,000. It was only after a series of negotiations with the Spanish insurer’s lawyers that the maximum amount of damages coverage was agreed, and subsequently approved by a Court. Subsequently, a seven-figure settlement was also secured against the Spanish hotel chain.

In the complex case of a woman who suffered a significant head injury after falling over a low balcony and onto a flight of stairs in a nightclub in Portugal, the nightclub was insolvent such and the claim had to be pursued against its insurer.

The jurisdiction of the English courts, liability, indemnity and the value of the damages were all heavily contested. Through careful negotiations, and having received expert advice from Portuguese lawyers, a settlement was successfully negotiated with the Portuguese insurer who paid the maximum amount under its public liability insurance policy.

Another of my clients suffered multiple fractures to her lower limbs in a ski accident in the French Alps when another skier collided into her. Liability was heavily disputed, but key witnesses were traced who provided evidence leading to the case being concluded 100 per cent in favour of the woman, leaving her entirely blameless and in a position to claim full compensation.

Member of the Pan European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers (PEOPIL)

Member of the American Association of Justice (AAJ)

Vice Chair of the International Practice Section for the American Association of Justice

Senior litigator of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)