When contradictory claims by both sides means the final decision will probably rest in the courts
What happened?
The following case study is based on media reports relating to claim for compensation being made by a family following an accident. The information provided, therefore, is as stated in the media, and not from independent sources (such as HSE) or from court proceedings.
A family were spending time at Perran Sands in Perranporth, a holiday park operated by Haven Leisure in October 2019. A 4 year-old’s stepfather was looking after her and her 8 year-old sibling, while her mother had been taking two of her other children to the lavatory.
There was an eighteen inch wall, and behind it was a six foot drop.
The stepfather claims he momentarily looked away as the 4 year old girl climbed the wall, and then fell, landing on her head. After the incident, the girl was taken to a hospital for children for neurological care. She fractured her skull in the fall and suffered a brain haemorrhage, which left her with ‘a moderate to severe brain injury’.
The family is making a claim against the holiday park for over £1 million.
The media reports details some arguments being made by both sides. The family are saying the holiday park have since put planters on the wall and have erected safety signs that state ‘Please do not climb on this wall’. They also explain the long term effects on the girls health, changes in behaviour and her educational needs.
Haven Leisure denied the negligence allegations. They claimed the stepfather placed the child on the wall, and denied the wall, which had been there for about 20 years without incident, was dangerous. They say regular site inspections and risk assessments did not identify the wall as a danger, adding the planters were introduced to aid social distancing during the pandemic. They also claimed the girl made a full or near-full recovery from her brain injury.
Legal Outcome
To be determined.
What can we learn from what happened?
Based on the information currently available, we cannot make any comment about this case, except to say it is a matter of fact that at the time of the media reports, five years had passed since the accident. This is a reminder that while adults aged 18 years and over have three years to file a claim, children have until they are 18 years-old, plus the three years. In this case, the family are making the claim on behalf of their daughter.
It will be an interesting case to follow, should its progress be available in the public domain.
Source of Information
Telegraph Online October 2025
Same information reported by various media outlets at the time