Judge's verdict: Avoiding a travel 'nightmare'

Ed Perkins

Ed Perkins on Travel

9:30 AM EDT, September 30, 2013



Don't Go Looking for Trouble. Even a casual look at the headlines would suggest that you avoid Egypt right now, but you can encounter terrorism, civil unrest, street crime, kidnapping, terrorism and even piracy in lots of places. Your best overall source is the State Department's summaries about individual countries, at travel.state.gov, but don't ignore the headlines, either.

Read the Fine Print. Do I really need to say this again? Dickerson and Chambers point out that many travel contracts -- the ones that actually commit both parties -- conceal some serious traps in fine print, especially for foreign travel:



-- "Forum" clauses. These common provisions limit your right of legal recourse to just one court venue, often in a remote part of the United States or even a foreign country. In effect, the objective of a forum clause is to hinder your ability to seek a legal remedy for damages or other misdeeds.

-- Limits on damages to actual monetary loss, especially on foreign trips. Some contracts cap any damages; in other cases, forum clauses may limit your recovery for wrongful death (maximum of $5,000 in the Cayman Islands), to loss of wages (25 pesos a day, or about $2, in Mexico), or to actual out-of-pocket medical expenses (several areas).

-- Travel Insurance Exclusions: If the contract does not specifically say some event is covered ("covered reason," or "named peril"), it isn't covered.


Don't Take Risks. If you engage in a risky activity, including zip-lining, snorkeling or even skiing), and you suffer an accident, you may have a problem in collecting any damages even in cases of obvious negligence.


Avoid Risky Foreign Airlines. If you fly a foreign airline entirely within a single country, you may not be protected by the international provisions of the Montreal Convention, itself more limiting than U.S., Canadian and European protections.

Avoid Uncertain Medical Care. Cruise lines generally avoid liability for malpractice by shipboard doctors, and medical practices in many parts of the world are unacceptable. The judges say, "Use your evacuation insurance, get on a plane and fly home" as fast as you can. But if you do, make sure you arrange the flight through the insurance company: If you "wing it" to make arrangement on your own, the insurance probably won't cover the cost.

Behave Yourself. Don't unwittingly violate local customs and laws. In some places, you can be fined for jaywalking, throwing used chewing gum on the street, making abusive statements or wearing the wrong sort of clothing.

Not Rocket Science. These recommendations shouldn't surprise you. So if you ignore them, don't be surprised if your dream trip becomes a nightmare.
