Vacations are a carefree time for children and a moment of respite for parents. Unfortunately, sometimes a single unfortunate jump into the water, a fall from a ropes course, or food poisoning at a resort can turn a dream vacation into a nightmare. Once emotions subside and the child receives necessary medical attention, a difficult but crucial question arises: who is responsible for what happened and how can we fight for the compensation the child deserves? In the next article in our series, we explain how to approach the issue of an accident at a summer camp.
Many parents believe that an accident is simply a coincidence or a child's mistake. However, the Civil Code makes this clear. Once a child is placed in the care of a camp organizer, the organizer and the teaching staff, including the manager and counselors, are legally obligated to ensure supervision and safety. Civil liability for an accident at a camp most often rests with the organizer, who is responsible for the overall organization, the selection of qualified staff, safe transportation, and the technical condition of the facility where the children are staying. A counselor or group leader may also be at fault, and is liable under the principle of fault in supervision. If an accident occurs because a caregiver was staring at their phone instead of supervising their children, it constitutes gross negligence. In certain cases, liability may be transferred to the owner of the facility, such as a water park, ropes course, or hotel, if the cause of the accident was faulty equipment or a slippery, unmarked surface.
A camp accident opens the door to several independent benefits. Parents often confuse these, losing the opportunity to obtain significantly higher amounts. The first and most basic claim is compensation, which provides direct compensation for physical pain, mental suffering, fear, and trauma. Examples of such situations include a child suffering profound psychological trauma after an accident or having to spend several weeks in a cast during a long-awaited vacation. Compensation is another element, which includes reimbursement of all financial costs incurred directly as a result of the accident. In this case, parents can apply for reimbursement of expenses supported by bills for private treatment, necessary rehabilitation, medications, hospital travel, as well as for equipment damaged during the incident, such as a phone or the child's designer clothing. The final type of benefit is a disability pension. This benefit is paid permanently or periodically in the event of long-term or irreversible consequences of the event, for example, when the accident causes permanent disability or requires years of extremely expensive rehabilitation.
It's important not to confuse the personal accident insurance policy your child has at school or purchased by the organizer with full compensation from the perpetrator's third-party liability insurance. Personal accident insurance payouts are usually a fixed, small percentage of the insurance sum, often amounting to just a few hundred zlotys for a broken arm. Pursuing claims under the organizer's third-party liability insurance, however, can result in amounts in the thousands, or even tens of thousands, of zlotys.
Tour operators' insurers are massively rejecting parents' claims or drastically underestimating payouts, hoping that exhausted caregivers will give up the fight. They often justify their rejections by citing the caregiver's lack of direct fault.
In summary, the key to obtaining compensation or redress following a child's accident at camp is immediately securing evidence. Parents should first and foremost ensure complete medical documentation, request an accident report from the camp director, and collect witness details and photos of the scene. Throughout the treatment process, it's also essential to meticulously collect invoices for all medical expenses. Financial security, which, in the event of an accident, will protect you from the astronomical costs of treatment abroad.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of July 1, 2026.
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