In October 2020 three juvenile tourists from England were involved in a tragic parasailing accident in Rhodes, Greece, which resulted to the death of two of the young tourists and the severe injury of the third one. The competent watersports operator had negligently performed the parasailing activity away from the designated beach area, despite increasing bad weather conditions. As a result, when the strong winds reached the parasailing boat, they tore apart the connection line/rope and swerved the parachute with the three children away, crashing them after a few minutes on the nearby rocks. The families of the victims, including their parents, siblings and grandparents, brought claims for their pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses, which literally ruined their lives, before the Greek Courts of Rhodes island.

Recently, the First Instance Court of Rhodes has issued its decision, finding the watersports center, which organized the parasailing activity and provided the equipment, speed boat and personnel, liable for causing/not preventing the accident. Among others, the boat operator was found to have acted recklessly by not following the weather forecast warnings and not complying with the minimum fundamental safety requirements for parasailing. Furthermore, the Court found the hotel where the victims were staying with their families and which advertised the parasailing activity as part of the hotel’s recreational activities, jointly and severally liable with the watersports business. The Court ruled that the watersports center was operating under the “supervision” of the hotel and therefore the latter was responsible for the services provided and their compliance with the minimum safety rules and regulations. The Court awarded significant compensations to the families of the victims for their non-pecuniary (moral) damages. Our law firm was honored to represent the claimants in this litigation.