SURFER SUES LUXURY RESORT FOR £500,000 AFTER HEAD INJURY ON WAVE MACHINE

Aidan Botha, a surfer from Porthleven in Cornwall, is seeking £500,000 in damages from Away Resorts Ltd after sustaining a head injury at Retallack spa resort in July 2022. Botha was using a FlowRider wave simulator at the luxury self-catering resort near St Colomb Major when he collided with another user and struck his head on the pool floor. The impact caused a severe hyperextension injury to his neck, resulting in what he describes as a "stinger"-type injury caused by nerves being stretched by the force of the collision.

Botha says the accident has left him with chronic burner syndrome, a condition characterised by intense burning pain, numbness and tingling extending down from the neck. He reports that the condition has significantly affected manual dexterity in both hands. The FlowRider device operates by pumping water over an engineered surface designed to replicate the shape of an ocean wave, creating a static wave that simulates surfing or snowboarding. Botha alleges that Away Resorts failed to properly control the number of people using the wave machine at any one time.

Away Resorts has acknowledged a breach of duty regarding the accident but disputes both the severity of injuries Botha claims to have sustained and the level of compensation he is seeking. Botha, who was previously an active surfer, states that the incident has left him with an acute fear of surfing.