Woman suffers blood clot as decking collapsed during hot tub dip

A self-employed florist from Eastwood told how a routine dip in a Jet2 apartment hotel hot tub left her with a terrifying blood clot when decking collapsed around her leg. Karen Taylor-Barrett was on a dream 10-day holiday when the freak accident occurred.

She and her husband were hoping to relax in the rooftop spa in Tenerife when decking suddenly gave way under her feet as she entered the tub. The 56-year-old also badly bruised her legs and was later diagnosed with a potentially fatal blood clot and an ongoing debilitating shoulder injury.

Now she says she has been left in constant pain and is terrified of falling over again. Mrs Barrett said last night: “I can’t believe how much this accident has changed my life.

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“I used to be very active around the house but now my husband has to do most things. I am very anxious now. When I try and relax or sleep my shoulder flares up with a burning sensation so I am left constantly exhausted.

“I am also scared all the time about falling over again. I avoid anything I could potentially fall through like drains and grates even the decking out the back of my house. It’s got so bad that I am going to have to get the decking ripped out as I think I could fall through it. I never want to see a hot tub or decking again.”

Karen and her husband Stephen were on a £2,000 trip to Tenerife to the Atlantic Mirage Suites & Spa in January this year. For the first week they enjoyed a relaxing holiday.

But everything changed when she decided to take a plunge in the rooftop hot tub. While navigating her way into the tub to join her hubby in the bubbles the wooden decking collapsed.

Karen added: “I had one leg in the water and one on the decking. I felt the wood crumble beneath my leg outside the tub and it fell straight through into a hole. I then screamed and fell backwards hitting my other leg and arm as I tried to break my fall. Afterwards, you could see the wood was rotten underneath. It was an accident waiting to happen and I was the unlucky one who fell through it.”

Staff gave her some ice and a serviette and packed her off to hospital on her own in a taxi. But medics later sent her home with a paracetamol after an x-ray showed no breaks.

She spent the remainder of her holiday with badly bruised legs and in pain and claims the management didn’t seem bothered about the accident. Karen from Eastwood, Nottingham, claimed: “They didn’t really care apart from giving me a spa voucher and just ignored me as if nothing had happened.”

After returning home her leg started burning up ‘like it was on fire” and her worried GP fast-tracked her to the Queens Medical Centre hospital in Nottingham where they diagnosed a blood clot.

She added: “I broke down crying when they told me as I knew that clots can kill you.” Thankfully super strength medicine later cleared the clot and her legs began to heal and bruises disappeared.

But then her shoulder and arm started hurting and told her she had also sustained a shoulder rotator cuff injury in her fall. She was then referred to a pain clinic for steroid injections and physio.

But she says she still remains in agony over eight months later. Karen added: “My whole body aches from my shoulder to the end of my arm The pain is so intense sometimes that it stops me from sleeping properly leaving me constantly exhausted.”

Karen has now signed with holiday accident specialists Express Solicitors to sue Jet2 over her injury.

Laura Vedrines, Associate Lawyer, who is handling her case, said: “This accident has affected every part of Ms Taylor Barret’s life. Holiday companies must be held to account when guests are injured in their resorts.”

A Jet2.com spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about Ms Taylor-Barrett’s experience. As lawyers have been instructed, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”