A British tourist has been awarded £18,000 in compensation following an unsettling incident at a Cape Verde hotel that left him requiring surgery. Ryan Mendelson, hailing from Manchester, recounted the distressing experience at the Hotel RIU Touraeg, where he was unexpectedly attacked by a staff member from the entertainment team.

Mendelson described the unprovoked assault, which took place on the second-to-last day of his holiday, as being “kneed in the back of the leg,” causing him to collapse “like a sack of potatoes.” The abrupt attack necessitated an immediate trip to a local hospital, where he underwent an X-ray and received a knee injection, incurring a bill of 860 Euros.

The aftermath of the incident forced Mendelson and his family to extend their stay, delaying their flight back to the UK. To accommodate his injured knee, he had to purchase two additional seats and wear a leg brace for support during the return journey.

Upon his return to the UK, further medical examinations, including an MRI scan, revealed a torn medial patellofemoral ligament, which required surgical intervention. Reflecting on the incident, Mendelson emphasized that the staff member involved was not someone he knew or had any prior interaction with, dismissing any notion of friendly “banter” leading to the attack.

When he returned home in the UK, an MRI scan revealed he had torn a medial patellofemoral ligament that required surgery. 

‘This staff member wasn’t a friend of mine. I didn’t have any “banter” with him,’ Mr Mendelson, who has now received £18,000 in compensation, said in a statement.

‘I just don’t know why he did it, other than being over-familiar and thinking he was just having a laugh. But the way I see it is that it was an unprovoked assault.

‘I was standing at the bar-pool area talking to two girls I’d met and, all of a sudden and completely out of nowhere, he came behind me and kneed me in the back of the knee,’ Mr Mendelson said.

Ryan Mendelson, from Manchester, said he ‘fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes’ when a member of the entertainment team at the Hotel RIU Touraeg carried out the ‘unprovoked assault’ on the penultimate day of his holiday

He was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, where he had an X-ray and an injection in his knee, and was charged 860 Euros

When he returned home in the UK, an MRI scan revealed he had torn a medial patellofemoral ligament that required surgery

‘I felt my knee click, twist and go out of place, and I fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I was in a state of shock and couldn’t move,’ he added.

Other guests in the hotel helped keep Mr Mendelson cool by pouring water on him while a wheelchair was fetched for him. 

‘Mum was distraught. There were no first-aiders around the pool and no hotel staff to help,’ he said.  

‘The guy from the animation team who attacked me kept apologising, but he was forced to take me to reception as there was no-one else around.’

After returning from the hospital Mr Mendelson said his family were told they had to pay for another night in the hotel as the incident delayed their return back to the UK

He said: ‘But they eventually settled that bill as Mum said we’d contact every newspaper in the world to tell them what had happened – even if it meant us sitting on the steps of the hotel all night.’

Mr Mendelson says his knee as ‘still not 100 per cent’ and that he has started seeing a therapist due to the incident.

‘I still suffer the odd pain after surgery – often in cold weather,’ he said.

‘I deal with it the best I can, and I also see a therapist once a week, which helps from a mental side of things.’

Mr Mendelson was also critical of Tui’s “scatty, arrogant and dismissive” handling of the situation, and urged hotel staff members to respect their boundaries.

He said: ‘Animation teams are always over-friendly. 

‘I’ve seen before how close they can get, but this was something completely different and totally unacceptable.’

Accident abroad specialist Paul Rimmer was part of the legal team that represented Ryan and called it ‘an extraordinary case’. 

‘It was tantamount to a physical assault from an employee working at a world-renowned hotel chain,’ he said.

‘Put simply, Ryan was mistreated from the outset.

‘It was, frankly, a disgrace that the hotel asked the Mendelsons to pay for another night when they were stranded because of the actions of one of their staff members.

‘Tui’s response was also substandard. 

‘Ryan and his mother desperately needed support throughout the ordeal, but they reacted sluggishly from start to finish and were nowhere to be seen when two of their clients reached out for urgent help.

‘We have, sadly, noticed a growing trend of blue-chip tourism groups not offering the care and support their customers deserve when a holiday abroad turns into a nightmare.

‘Ryan’s situation was unique, but shoddy customer service has become all too common. 

‘Holidaymakers are therefore recommended to seek expert legal advice if they feel entitled to make a compensation claim following an accident abroad.’

A spokesperson for RIU Hotels and Resorts said: ‘At RIU Hotels & Resorts, we are very sorry for the injury sustained by Mr Mendelson during his holiday.

‘The incident stemmed from a misguided attempt at a playful interaction by a member of the hotel’s entertainment team and was never intended to cause harm. We recognise the pain and distress this caused and sincerely regret what happened.

‘The matter has been fully investigated, and has now been settled with the customer. 

‘At RIU we are fully committed with the safety and wellbeing of our guests and make a daily effort to prevent incidents like this from happening.’

The Daily Mail has also contacted TUI for a statement.