Safety 'must be priority' on slopes

20 February 2012 10:03

Tour operators and ski resorts have been urged to make the safety of holidaymakers their number-one priority

Tour operators and ski resorts have been urged to make the safety of holidaymakers their number-one priority

A call has been made to ski tour operators and resorts to make safety their main focus following repeat cases of accidents on the slopes.

Specialist travel lawyers at Irwin Mitchell are urging more care to be taken for holidaymakers, at a time when many families are enjoying half-term breaks on the slopes.

The call comes after figures from the National Ski Areas Association revealed there were 38 serious injuries at American resorts during 2009/10.

While this is some improvement on previous years, Irwin Mitchell is making its plea in a bid to further bring down the number.

A specialist in skiing and snowboarding accidents at the firm, Demetrius Danas, said: "We're still seeing clients coming to us with serious injuries caused by a lack of safety barriers, inadequate marking of ski pistes, insecure chair lifts or collisions with other skiers or snowboarders, who haven't had sufficient training."

However, he noted that safety was improving, saying: "The figures show that safety around skiing and snowboarding is getting better as a result of better equipment, more people wearing helmets and wearing protective clothing and better safety standards at the resorts."

For anyone heading for a ski holiday, ski travel insurance is an absolute necessity given the potential risks on the slopes.

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