A hard-working dental nurse’s ‘birthday trip of a lifetime’ turned into a ‘holiday from hell’ when she broke her leg after slipping on a wet floor at a Hilton hotel.
Iulia Malea, of Lewisham, southeast London, said she arrived at the Hilton Hurghada Plaza in Egypt last month for a solo ten day all-inclusive holiday.
But the 37-year-old claims that on her third day she slipped on the hotel’s ‘wet floor’ and fell onto her knee, leaving her crying out in agony as it swelled up ‘like a balloon’ and tripled in size.
The singleton said she was dashed to hospital where she was told she’d suffered a fractured femur and lateral collateral ligament injuries, being advised she urgently needed surgery that was going to cost her 6,000 euros.
The traveller claims she couldn’t get hold of her insurance and as she was unable to afford the hefty bill and was reluctant to have surgery abroad that would require 10 weeks recovery time, so paid £400 for her hospital care and returned to the hotel.
Iulia Malea’s ‘birthday trip of a lfetime’ was ruined after slipping on a wet floor while on holiday in Egypt
The dental nurse broke her leg while staying at a luxury Hilton hotel
The singleton blames her accident on negligence on the part of the hotel
The injury left the traveller in bed with her leg in a brace for the rest of the holiday
The jetsetter forked out £1,600 for the one week getaway to Egypt, as well as another £500 on activities
A ‘devastated’ Ms Malea was forced to cancel all her exciting excursions, including trips to the Pyramids and the Valley of the Kings, but decided to stick her holiday out given it was her only opportunity to have one this year.
But the jet setter said she spent the remainder of her trip basically bed bound on painkillers wearing a brace with her leg propped up.
Ms Malea eventually arrived back in the UK on the 15th and went straight to A&E and since seeing a knee surgeon she’s been given two new diagnoses – morel lavallee syndrome and suprapatellar fat pad impingement.
Since her return she’s received the good news that she won’t be needing surgery but rather has started physiotherapy and hydrotherapy.
Despite being now on the mend, the health care professional’s freak accident has impacted her life in many ways – as she was unable to leave the house for a fortnight, work for around a month, and is still yet to return to one of her major passions, dancing.
After her hellish ordeal, Ms Malea is now keen to encourage other holiday makers to think properly about their insurance and coverage before jetting off abroad.
Ms Malea said: ‘It was basically a holiday from hell.
‘I booked a holiday of a lifetime. That’s the only time of year when I actually spend money on myself because I’m helping my family at home.
‘It happened during lunch time on my third day so I basically spent the rest of my holiday just crying and looking at other people having fun.
‘So I can’t say I had a proper time to enjoy [the holiday] besides the safari that I did, everything else I had to cancel.
‘I had my leg in a brace for the rest of the time and was bed bound in my room or down sitting on the chair with my leg up.
The holidaymaker stayed at the five-star Hilton Hurghada Plaza
‘The only thing I did was go to one of their a la carte restaurants for my birthday, a seafood restaurant and I booked myself a massage at their spa.
‘I thought of returning to the UK but knowing it was my only holiday, I decided to stay as it had already been paid for and the weather in the UK was extremely cold.
‘The only thing that I was able to enjoy was the fact that it was sunny and nice weather.’
Ms Malea booked her trip through a package holiday company, and the insurance was booked through them on behalf of a third party, which is highlighted in their booking terms and conditions.
The 37-year-old said she usually books one annual holiday to a destination she’s never visited before, and on this occasion forked out around £1,600 for her hotel and flights to Egypt.
She spent a further £500 on activities, including a luxury boat trip where she’d snorkel, island hop and have a massage on her birthday.
But only got around to doing one before her accident – a safari in the desert involving riding a camel and quad bike – and was refunded for those she could no longer make.
Ms Malea says she still has to take painkillers when her legs get painful
Ms Malea said: ‘As I was coming out of the elevator the flooring was wet and on my second step I slipped and fell on my knee.
‘My knee started to swell and was inflated like a balloon. It was extremely painful. I was in so much pain I was trembling and crying out of pain.
‘In 15 seconds my knee was like triple the size.
‘Someone came and helped me to a nearby chair. I was already crying but then started crying more because I realised my holiday was over.
‘I’d booked a trip to see the Pyramids and it would have been a six-hour bus ride, and I instantly knew that I wouldn’t be able to do that. It was devastating.
‘I feel the accident happened due to the hotel’s negligence.
‘Either it was someone cleaning the floor and didn’t put the slippery floor sign or another holiday maker that by mistake put water on the floor. They should have seen it and taken care of it.’
Ms Malea claims she contacted her insurance immediately after the accident but that they were unhelpful and ‘couldn’t give her any information about her policy’.
She said that the hotel arranged for a car to pick her up and take her to a private hospital where she later discovered that her insurance wouldn’t cover her for private care.
She warned travellers planning similar getaways after her insurance didn’t cover her for private healthcare
After being seen by a doctor, she paid £400 for her x-ray, knee brace and medication.
After arriving back in the UK, Iulia dashed to A&E where she had another x-ray and subsequently saw a knee surgeon who performed an emergency MRI.
Ms Malea said: ‘What’s happened has impacted my life badly.
‘For the first two weeks I didn’t leave my house and I had neighbours that I had to ask to help me with some small groceries until I did a big shop from the supermarket. It wasn’t pleasant at all.
‘In the morning my knee and leg are ok-ish but during the day it gets very painful, to the point I have to take a painkiller.
‘I live in zone three in London and my work is in central, so I have at least a two hour commute every day and it’s not a pleasant journey to be honest. I still wear a brace.’
The dental nurse said she hasn’t received any money back from her insurance.
Ms Malea said: ‘I’ve always travelled by myself and now every time I see a holiday offer on social media, I scroll very fast. I don’t even want to see it.
‘It’s had a negative impact. I can’t say that I’m afraid to travel again but I’m going to think twice about where I want to go.
‘I hope that it makes people think properly about when they book a holiday and how they’re covered, because when you book, you don’t think about the negatives and that something bad might happen, you just think about having the time of your life.’
Hilton hotels were contacted by the Mail for comment but failed to respond.
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