Tourist From Israel Secures Admission Of Liability

A retired lawyer from Israel who suffered permanent injuries after falling on a wooden floor in a London apartment within hours of arriving in the capital for a holiday has spoken out for the first time after specialist personal injury lawyers issued legal proceedings on her behalf.

Ruth Turkenitz and her spouse travelled to London for a relaxing break in September 2011 staying at the Hyde Park Executive apartments hotel in the city. Going up to her room, Ruth slipped on the shiny laminated flooring of the stairs dividing the apartment in to two levels, landing heavily on her left shoulder.

The 80-year-old was rushed to A&E at St Mary’s hospital where it was found that she had suffered broken bones in her left shoulder. She needed surgery to replace her left shoulder joint and physiotherapy to help with her recovery but, due to the extent of her  injuries she has been left in permanent pain and with very restricted movement in her dominant left arm, 

Ruth instructed specialist International Personal Injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell who worked together with Israeli lawyer Mr Meny Ivan at Interclaims, Tel Aviv, to investigate whether more could have been done by Two West Ltd, who run Hyde Park Executive apartments hotel, to prevent her accident. The law firm has now commenced Court proceedings in a bid to secure funds to help Ruth with her recovery and rehabilitation. Two West have admitted liability for the incident.

Joseph Dawson, a specialist International Personal Injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said:

Ruth, who lives in Israel, said: “Since the accident I have been left with serious injuries that caused severe damage to my shoulder and I am suffering with on-going pain and discomfort on a daily basis. I used to be a very independent woman, I loved to travel, walk, cook and socialise with friends and family - but now I am heavily reliant on my spouse and struggle to do simple things such as get dressed in the morning, washing my hair and even holding a cup of tea properly.

“My confidence has been dramatically affected by my injuries; suddenly everything in my life has changed, the trip to London was meant to be an exciting trip for my spouse and I who relied on me to show him some of the sights since it was his first time in England, but within hours of landing in London, I was taken to hospital and then confined to the apartment.

“I hope that with the help of my legal team at Irwin Mitchell I will be able to get help for my rehabilitation and some answers and improvements will be made to prevent others from suffering a similar injury in future.”