Injuries Direct - Personal Injury Claims

A family will make a package holiday claim for compensation after losing their two children in a gas poisoning incident in Greece.

The children’s dad Neil Shepherd and his partner Ruth Beaston survived the accident, but fell into a coma during the heavy intake of carbon monoxide at a holiday bungalow in Corfu. It was only when they awoke that they were told that the children had not survived.

Now, two Thomas Cook employees, Richard Carson, 27, and Nicola Gibson, 25, along with nine other Greek staff at the hotel are now facing trial for manslaughter by negligence and bodily harm by negligence.

At the hearing, Mr Shepherd said: “You’re going on holiday, the last thing going through your mind is not being safe. You just presume that you’re safe, you presume that the tour operator has just done the checks so that you can go away and enjoy your holiday and not have your children die.”

During their holiday in October 2006, a faulty boiler leaked gas into the family’s holiday bungalow, causing all of them to suffer dangerous carbon monoxide poisoning. A hole in the wall of the boiler room allowed the leaking gas to seep into the rest of the house – something that was later fatal for Mr Shepherd’s two children Robert and Christianne.

So far the Thomas Cook employees have denied responsibility for the deaths. The company have said the accident was “unique and unforeseeable” and the Carson and Gibson were not directly to blame.

The trial will continue at a later date.