English speaking Personal Injury Lawyer

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howardcohen

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Oct 17, 2007
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I work for a firm of solicitors in England and we currently have a case concerning a lady who tripped on a raised brick edging to an ornamental pool in a hotel reception in Playa Dorada. In order to have any success in this case I need to find out what, if any, regulations are in place in the Dominican Republic with regards to health and safety.
This is quite urgent so if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.
Hayley
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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I am not a lawyer. You should address your legal issues to (The Dominican Republic Law Firm: Guzman Ariza, Attorneys at Law.) for your very best advice.

However, experience shows that an extremely few number of these cases are even put on the docket.

Unless you can prove negligence on the part of the hotel, the architect's design as flawed, or the constructor's lack of supervision, I can't see where such a case would prosper.

HB
 
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Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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From what I understand, punitive awards aren't accepted as part as legal process here so more than likely any award would be just to cover the medical costs in DR currency.
 
Robert

Robert

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Also as a non resident or national you will need to post bond in order to take the hotel to court. The way the court system works here (buddy network), it could be a very high bond.

Personally I think your client is wasting their time, unless they have a huge amount of money and time to burn.
 
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Janin

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Jul 31, 2007
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Stepped on a banana skin?

I have seen uncovered openings in sidewalks which - once stepped in - would lead one to certain death.

Here more than in any other place it's important:
Watch Your Step!

If you don't and get hurt, nobody will ever be responsible for anything... :tired:

Janin
 
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FireGuy

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While each of the preceding comment has it's own merits, I would suggest you wait for a more legally-based opinion from the Moderator and resident legal expert of this forum, Fabio Guzman. Unfortunately for you I feel that his legal opinion will likely lend credibility to these less than legal opinions.

The DR is not a litigation-friendly environment for foreigners; the costs are high and the rewards are low, if at all.

Good luck.

Gregg
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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I agree with FireGuy, wait for Fabio to reply.

However, even if your client was successful, I'd be surprised if the amount of the award, which will likely be in pesos, is even a tiny fraction of what you are dreaming of.
 
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Fabio J. Guzman

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Jan 1, 2002
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Awards for torts in the Dominican Republic are very small compared to the U.S. or even Britain. Only compensatory damages are allowed since punitive damages do not exist under Dominican law. A nonresident plaintiff may be forced to post a bond for the suit to proceed.
 
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CFA123

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May 29, 2004
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At no time did the OP mention the lawsuit was going to be in DR. ;)
I'd guess it's quite possibly against the travel/tour company in England.

"Look at these bast****, they knowingly recommended my client go to this resort in a country where they have no health and safety regulations. The tour company was negligent in not doing their due diligence by checking every little brick in every walkway where my drunk, pasty white client might have possibly stumbled."
 
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sokitoumi

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tell her to look where shes going in future and not blame it on other people..... or should we concrete the whole of the dominican republic so she doesnt trip over anything
 
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Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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Hayley, if you go to the sespas website you will find a whole lot of pdfs on regulations, for example
Secretar?a de Estado de Salud P?blica y Asistencia Social

It's a big website with a lot of documentation and of course is in Spanish but I expect you have a Spanish translator available at your firm? If you can't find what you want here there are lots of email addresses you can contact (all on the website).

Is your firm the one based in Leeds? I was interested in what it says about Accidents and Illness Abroad, particularly the possible claims for
'Your injuries
Lost income
Future losses and expenses
Treatment costs
Travel costs
Damage to property
Care given to you whilst recuperating
Interim payments'
This I assume would be relevant to UK based litigation, yes? However if this is DR based litigation do please let us know because it will be fascinating to observe. Thank you.
Personal Injury Solicitor in Leeds, West Yorkshire
 
B

BushBaby

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sokitoumi said:
tell her to look where shes going in future and not blame it on other people..... or should we concrete the whole of the dominican republic so she doesnt trip over anything
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I hope you are intending that to include the Beaches & to at least 6' depth into the sea sokitoumi!! Can't have 1 sq Mtr non concreted space anywhere for the poor victim to accidents to damage herself on ....... but then, maybe the Tour Company or whoever would get sued by the person for concreting everywhere & them burning their feet!!

So there you have it Hayley ....... we are not impressed with your client's desire to look for compensation for their own lack of 'awareness' of what is going on around them. In the DR we plan for most (if not quite all) eventualities & have to take responsibility for our own actions &/or inactions. Tell your client she will do better by claiming on her travel insurance & leave it at that & then book her a trip to the opticians to get a new set of glasses :glasses: OR (better still for her perhaps) a white stick!! :ermm: :cheeky: ~ Grahame (who detests whinging Holiday makers especially when they are fellow Brits!!).
 
H

howardcohen

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Oct 17, 2007
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CFA123 is correct, this is actually an action being brought against the travel company NOT the hotel itself. All i require is some information on health and safety regulations in DR, if there are any, which might be of some assistance to this case so if anyone can assist it would be greatly appreciated.

Lambada - Many thanks for your reply, we are however a small firm and do not have anyone that speaks spanish, your website suggestion is a good start though. Yes we are the firm in Leeds, West Yorkshire and the information on our website does relate to laws in the UK.

Thanks
 
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planner

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Sep 23, 2002
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Each Tour Operator will have conducted an extensive Health and Safety evaluation before entering into a contract with the hotel. And then, that is redone at least once a year. You might want to look at that before wondering about the laws. The British tour operators have a much more extensive evaluation then any others and much more extensive then any regulations here in the country.
 
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Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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dylanwells said:
You should consult a legal work injury lawyers so that you can get a professional advice regarding your issue. Try to search the web regarding this matter and make sure to contact that lawyer and he is near your area. Goodluck.

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I see that you are new to DR1. Welcome. A suggestion for you: when going through the archives, check the dates of the posts. The one you have responded to is 5 years old. Whatever prompted someone to start that thread has almost certainly been resolved a long time ago. Also, it is very possible the person who started the thread is no longer participating. I have not seen the name of the OP (original poster) in a long, long time.

Newcomers to DR1 often responded to an old thread or two before they realize the best way they can contribute is to respond to current or very recent threads.

This is not to discourage you from using the archived threads, there is a lot of helpful information in them.
 
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Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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Ken don't waste your energy, it's a spammer - they search on the topic on which they want to spam and antique threads like this come up.
 
K

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Chirimoya said:
Ken don't waste your energy, it's a spammer - they search on the topic on which they want to spam and antique threads like this come up.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Chiri. I wondered about that at the time I wrote the reply. Strange way to spam the message board since it has as much impact as a drop of water in the ocean.
 
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JesucristoEsREY

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Dec 24, 2012
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howardcohen said:
I work for a firm of solicitors in England and we currently have a case concerning a lady who tripped on a raised brick edging to an ornamental pool in a hotel reception in Playa Dorada. In order to have any success in this case I need to find out what, if any, regulations are in place in the Dominican Republic with regards to health and safety.
This is quite urgent so if anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.
Hayley
Click to expand...

Playa Dorada and its affiliate resort/hotels are full of predators out to scam people. They scammed me out of $1900USD of a bogus resort package. Never got my money back. I doubt you'll get anywhere with getting them to pay up for anything.
 
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