Family Call For Safety Improvements After Daughter’s Hair Is Caught In Filter

The family of a traumatised young girl who almost drowned when her hair became caught in a swimming pool filter in Lanzarote last year have launched legal action in a bid to ensure lessons are learned from the ‘worst day’ of their lives.

Seven-year-old Darcey Morgan, from Wakefield, was held underwater for around two minutes when her hair became tangled as she swam close to a waterfall feature in the pool at the H10 Rubicon Palace resort in Playa Blanca during a holiday in April 2017.

By the time that holidaymakers managed to eventually pull her free, Darcey had turned blue and was unconscious. Thankfully, following emergency treatment and time in hospital she survived, although she continues to suffer from psychological injuries including sleep disturbance, separation anxiety and social withdrawal.

Upon their return home, Darcey’s mother Alex Morgan, instructed specialist lawyers in Irwin Mitchell’s International Personal Injury team to investigate the incident. The experts have now issued a letter of claim to tour operator TUI UK Ltd, regarding what happened, but no formal response on liability has been received to date.

Philip Banks, the Partner at Irwin Mitchell who is representing the family, said: 

Expert Opinion

“This is a truly shocking case and, while Darcey survived, the incident has had a lasting impact on her and she will likely need access to specialist support in order to put what happened behind her.

“The incident clearly raises many questions relating to pool safety and the use of water features and we are determined to help our clients gain the answers they deserve regarding whether this incident could have been avoided.

“We also hope that this action will ensure that no other child – or adult for that matter – faces the same issues in the future.” Philip Banks - Partner

Darcey’s stay at H10 Rubicon Palace with her mother, Alex, and father, Gareth, began on the 11th April 2017 with the incident occurring 11 days into the holiday.

Alex recalled: “The whole incident was an absolute nightmare and we truly thought at one point that we were going to lose our little girl. It was undoubtedly the worst day of our lives.

“A huge amount of hair was ripped from Darcey’s head in the incident, yet following what happened we never saw the hotel close the pool, turn off the feature or examine the filter at all.

“We have been hugely frustrated by the response of both the hotel and the tour operator in relation to what happened and just want to get some reassurances that lessons will be learned.

“No parent should face what Gareth and I went through and we hope that this action will not only raise awareness of issues relating to hotel swimming pools but also lead to clear safety improvements. This simply cannot be allowed to happen again.”

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