Ryan Mendelson has now received £18,000 in compensation
Ryan Mendelson has now received £18,000 in compensation
A man has received £18,000 in compensation after a staff member at a hotel he was on holiday in “kneed” him in the back of the leg. Ryan Mendelson from Manchester required surgery after the incident after a member of the entertainment team at the Hotel RIU Touraeg carried out the “unprovoked assault”.
Working with law firm Hudgell Solicitors, Ryan has now received £18,000 in compensation. In a statement he said: “This staff member wasn’t a friend of mine. I didn’t have any banter with him. I just don’t know why he did it, other than being over-familiar and thinking he was just having a laugh. But the way I see it is that it was an unprovoked assault.”
“I felt my knee click, twist and go out of place, and I fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I was in a state of shock and couldn’t move.” He added: “The guy from the animation team who attacked me kept apologising, but he was forced to take me to reception as there was no-one else around.”
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for RIU Hotels and Resorts said: “At RIU Hotels & Resorts, we are very sorry for the injury sustained by Mr Mendelson during his holiday.
“The incident stemmed from a misguided attempt at a playful interaction by a member of the hotel’s entertainment team and was never intended to cause harm. We recognise the pain and distress this caused and sincerely regret what happened.
“The matter has been fully investigated, and has now been settled with the customer. At RIU we are fully committed with the safety and wellbeing of our guests and make a daily effort to prevent incidents like this from happening.”
Ryan was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, where he had an X-ray and an injection in his knee. He was charged 860 Euros for the ambulance and time in the hospital, The Manchester Evening news reports.
The family had to delay their flight home, and Ryan had to book two extra seats on their return flight and wear a leg brace in order to support his knee. Missing the flight was soul-destroying,” he said.
When Ryan returned to the UK, an MRI scan revealed he had torn a medial patellofemoral ligament that required surgery. He said: “I still suffer the odd pain after surgery – often in cold weather. I deal with it the best I can, and I also see a therapist once a week, which helps from a mental side of things.”
Accident abroad specialist Paul Rimmer was part of the legal team that represented Ryan and called it “an extraordinary case”, Mr Rimmer said: “It was tantamount to a physical assault from an employee working at a world-renowned hotel chain. Put simply, Ryan was mistreated from the outset.
“It was, frankly, a disgrace that the hotel asked the Mendelsons to pay for another night when they were stranded because of the actions of one of their staff members.”
Ryan claimed the family were told to pay for another night in the hotel, he said: “they eventually settled that bill as Mum said we’d contact every newspaper in the world to tell them what had happened – even if it meant us sitting on the steps of the hotel all night.”
Mr Rimmer highlighted the support that Ryan and his mum needed, he said: “Tui’s response was also substandard. Ryan and his mother desperately needed support throughout the ordeal, but they reacted sluggishly from start to finish and were nowhere to be seen when two of their clients reached out for urgent help.
“We have, sadly, noticed a growing trend of blue-chip tourism groups not offering the care and support their customers deserve when a holiday abroad turns into a nightmare.
“Ryan’s situation was unique, but shoddy customer service has become all too common. Holidaymakers are therefore recommended to seek expert legal advice if they feel entitled to make a compensation claim following an accident abroad.”
TUI was also contacted for a statement by The Manchester Evening News.
