The mum of two had been on holiday in Turkey for barely 14 hours when she was rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding, liver and kidney damage, and five cracked ribs
A BRITISH mum says she is suing Thomas Cook after she was "almost crushed to death" when an obese woman landed on her on a holiday waterslide.
Jemma Joslyn, 32, has slammed the holiday giant after a woman crashed into her feet first while travelling “around 30 miles per hour”.
The mother of two had been on holiday in Turkey for barely 14 hours when she was rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding, liver and kidney damage, fluid on the right lung and five cracked ribs.
Jemma was terrified her injuries would leave her on dialysis for the rest of her life as she had previously donated one of her healthy kidneys to her mum in 2015.
If my friends hadn't been there, I would be dead and my children would have been in Turkey alone
Jemma Joslyn
And she believes she would have died if her friends Natasha Gander, 32 and Bill Andrews, 39, hadn't been there to save her.
She is now taking legal action against Thomas Cook after claiming that there were no safety precautions in place at the hotel to monitor who was coming down the slide and that her aftercare was "appalling".
The pain was excruciating and my eyes were just rolling back in my head
Jemma Joslyn
She alleges staff at the Liberty Hotels Lykia did not check on who was caring for her children while she spent eight days in hospital, including three in the intensive care unit.
The health care assistant, who had splashed out £2,700 for the fortnight-long all-inclusive holiday, said: “I told my daughter to count to ten before coming down the slide, once I had gone down.
“The woman came hurtling down the slide as I was just standing up to get out. I would say she was easily travelling at around 30 miles per hour.
“But as soon as I stood up and turned around, I just saw this woman come hurtling towards me.
“The impact sent me flying backwards into the water and I instantly started panicking that she had come down after my daughter and crushed her at the bottom.
“The pain was excruciating and my eyes were just rolling back in my head.”
The mum from Seaford, East Sussex, was rushed to the nearest hospital after slipping in and out of consciousness.
Jemma claims she was then told her insurance didn't cover the hospital care as she had been taken to a private hospital.
She later found out that if she was taken to the nearest state hospital, which was two hours away, she would have died.
It was terrifying, I thought I was facing a life on dialysis
Jemma Joslyn
Jemma, who still hasn’t been able to return to work, said she felt like she was in an episode of Casualty with all of her injuries.
She alleged: “If it was left up to Thomas Cook I would be dead and my children would be in the Turkish care system somewhere.”
Recalling the nightmare visit, she said: “As soon as I got there, they gave me an emergency CT scan and it showed I had internal bleeding and my liver had a 5cm laceration.
“It also showed that my kidney had been damaged. It was terrifying, I thought I was facing a life on dialysis.
“The doctors did another scan to compare and within ten minutes the amount of internal bleeding had doubled. The translator explained that they had to get me into theatre there and then.”
Her parents flew to Turkey on an emergency flight to take care of their grandchildren while she underwent lifesaving surgery, but claims that the holiday giant offered no extra support to her mum and dad to get to Turkey.
Magdalena Knez, a travel litigation solicitor who is representing Jemma, said: “My client could have spent her life needing serious medical attention due to the fact that the swimming pool slide was not operated with the appropriate safety measures.
“At this point we are still unclear as to the extent of her injuries and the long term effect this will have on her health.
“Every British holiday maker has the right to be protected by their holiday provider who should provide adequate care while they are abroad.”
She added: "Thomas Cook have confirmed they have received our correspondence and are looking into the case.
Thomas Cook has denied any liability.
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