Tourist sues over electric shock from hotel iron

A HOLIDAYMAKER on a £7,000 yoga trip to the Caribbean is suing British Airways Holidays for six-figure damages after he claims he was given an electric shock by a faulty iron at the luxury resort.

David Lewis checked into St Lucia’s exclusive Bodyholiday resort for a 10day stay with his wife Julia in April 2016, but, just three days into their holiday, Mr Lewis says he suffered lifechanging injuries due to a faulty iron.

While using an iron provided by the £700-a-night hotel, the 60-year-old claims that he tried to move the lead around the ironing board and that the cable sent a severe electrical current through his right hand and locked his arm in shock.

Mr Lewis says he suffered burns to the tips of fingers, movement disorder, functional neurological symptom disorder, somatic pain disorder and a depressive episode. He is seeking more than £200,000 for the “lost enjoyment of his holiday” and the long-term health effects he has suffered.

In a writ lodged at the High Court, Mr Lewis’s barrister, Matthew Chapman QC, claims the hotel “failed to provide Mr Lewis with a reasonably safe iron … to warn him that the iron was dangerous [and] exposed him to reasonably foreseeable and easily avoided risk of injury”.

The barrister also argued that the shock has had severe consequences for Mr Lewis, including lasting pain that has affected his ability to make a living.

Isabel Barter, defending British Airways Holidays, denies the company is liable to pay Mr Lewis or his wife any damages. She said that a faulty iron at the hotel, and any alleged failure to maintain it, would not be the responsibility of the company.

No trial date has been set.