Retired GP dies after slipping on ‘air-con puddle’ at five-star Caribbean hotel
A retired GP died after slipping on a puddle “caused by a leak in an air-con unit” at a £1,000-a-night Caribbean hotel.
Mark Tweedy, 66, slipped in a pool of water in his suite at the five-star Couples Sans Souci hotel, in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, while on holiday with his wife.
The former Buckinghamshire GP broke his leg and died from health complications after surgery.
Helen Tweedy, his widow, is suing the travel company through which they booked their holiday for up to £1 million in compensation. She said the puddle was caused by a leak from the air-con unit.
The travel company, Travelbag, has denied liability over Tweedy’s fall.
Tweedy, who practised in High Wycombe, had visited the ocean-side hotel with his wife in March 2020. The resort has five restaurants, seven bars, and a private beach, as well as a private nudist beach where guests are prohibited from wearing clothing during the daytime.
The fall in his hotel room left the father of four with a break in his left thigh, and he was rushed to the nearby St Ann’s Bay Hospital for surgery a day later to pin his smashed thighbone.
Postoperative complications resulted in Tweedy suffering from heart failure two days after the operation. He died from multi-organ failure a week after the accident.
The details of his death were heard at a brief hearing at London’s High Court this week as Mrs Tweedy’s case against Travelbag was set out by lawyers.
Katherine Deal KC, representing the widow, said: “She [Mrs Tweedy] alleges that [Travelbag] is liable to her for the consequences of the original accident, which include Dr Tweedy’s death.
“Travelbag accepts that it owed a duty under the holiday contract that reasonable skill and care would be exercised in the provision of services and facilities.
“It admits there was an air conditioning unit in the suite. It appears to accept that the unit was one of the facilities provided under the holiday contract and that inspecting the unit and cleaning the suite were services provided under the holiday contract – at least, the contrary is not asserted.
“However, it says that reasonable skill and care was exercised and the unit was adequately inspected and maintained.”
The barrister told Master Lisa Sullivan, presiding, that the key issue in the case would hinge on whether the air-con unit was properly maintained at the time.
The trial will also consider Tweedy’s life expectancy in regards to his early death, in light of a medical history which included diabetes and hypertension.
A future five-day trial has been planned but no date has yet been fixed.
