panaji a tourist suffering injuries due to negligence in a hotel may lose his claim for compensation if he fails to prove that he had paid for accomodation through a travel company the goa state consumer redressal commission has dismissed a complaint filed by a former delhi mla ved prakash vij who fell in the sauna of a south goa resort and claimed 58 lakh as compensation after sustaining burn injuries vij who was 78 years old checked into the baywatch resort in sernabatim salcete on july 16 2008 with his wife and granddaughter on july 20 he visited the hotels steam and sauna bath where he suffered a transcient ischaemic attack and lost consciousness according to him he regained consciousness only at a private hospital in margao having suffered 1520 burns vij was taken and admitted to a private hospital in delhi where he remained for treatment for several weeks he had to undergo surgery and grafting several times under anesthesia for deep burns in his case vij attributed his ordeal to negligence of the hotel imperfect and improper working of the steam bath and insufficient and improper service he said that the hotel had intentionally and negligently failed to comply with its duty to take proper care of the steam bath system in defence the hotels counsel objected to the claim stating that vij was only their guest who had not paid for the hotel accommodation and as such was not a consumer as defined in the consumer protection act 1986 vijs lawyer countered that vij had booked the holiday at the hotel by paying money to a travel company in delhi but the hotels counsel argued that vijs contract for services was with the travel company from delhi and that neither he nor that travel company had paid the hotel vij could not produce any document to prove that the travel company had paid the hotel the consumer commission noted that when vij had made such a huge claim against the hotel it was expected of him to have produced some credible evidence to show that he had paid for the services of the hotel either directly or through the travel company in the absence of any such evidence the commission dismissed the complaint it directed that vij pay costs of 5000 to the hotel