Family's Desperate Plea for £170k to Fly Injured Son Home from Thailand

This may sound cruel. The individual has been tragically diagnosed as brain dead, leaving the family in a difficult financial situation with seemingly no viable options.

In a heartwarming response, the public has shown remarkable generosity, raising an impressive £180,000 in a remarkably short time.

However, it’s crucial for the family to confront the stark reality of the situation. They should refrain from turning to the media with “wish lists” seeking public funding to cover the costs of third parties providing assistance to someone in such a dire state. Their inquiries about why the UK government cannot fund his repatriation also merit careful reflection.

Are they aware of the countless individuals injured abroad each year who find themselves either uninsured or underinsured?

While it may sound harsh, this is the undeniable truth. The individual was not a child; he was an adult pursuing his career in Australia. It is vital for people to take responsibility for their choices and actions. It's reality.

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

That's not what i said.

In addition, if the home address is still in the UK, it should be UK insurance.

I can't see how his home address would be in the UK when he was living and working in Australia.

Yes, it can be his family address or his parents' address.

The UK has only come into the fray because it is his parents' home address, and he has been severely injured.

In the original post, it indicated that this young man “left his job in Australia to travel with a friend”. Several other media outlets, have reported that he had been working with his brother, in his ‘dream job’ as a gold miner in Perth for the past 2 years.

If this is correct, his family are going to be in for a very big shock if they manage to pay off the Thai hospital bills and the cost of an air ambulance repatriation flight back to the UK.

I suspect that they are thinking that getting him back to the UK, regardless of his condition, will mean he will get better treatment, free, under the National Health Service (NHS).  Sorry, but that’s where the shock may well hit them.

The NHS system is based upon something called ordinary residence, which basically means that a person must be living in the UK, legally, on a settled basis.  Having a British passport or having paid National Insurance contributions or UK taxes in the past does not give someone automatic entitlement to NHS treatment. 

According to the NHS, if a person has been covered by the system and they leave the UK for longer than 6 months, they are no longer considered to be resident in the UK.  Should they subsequently return, they will initially still be considered to be non-resident, and any treatment provided by the NHS will be subject to being charged at the rate of 150% of the normal cost of the treatment.

In order to requalify for NHS services, he/his family will have to prove he is a UK resident once again, which necessitates him living in the UK for 3, or more, months and providing documented proof.

It should be noted that there are a number of exceptions to the NHS rules, but unfortunately this young man is highly unlikely to qualify for any of them, which means his family may well have to start a second GoFundMe.

Before someone asks, how will they (NHS) know that he's been out of the UK for more than 6 months. Remember, he's currently in a critical condition, on life support. When he's repatriated, the doctor/nurse that accompany him will had over his medical notes from Thailand to the UK hospital. These notes may also contain details of his passport, past travel and insurance details. The receiving hospital administration will no doubt ask for details of his UK address and doctor, which when entered into their computer system may well show that he is no longer registered on the system. If the NHS suspects that that he has been out of the UK for more than 6 months, they will ask the family to provide prove he has not been out of the country for 6 months or more e.g. payslips.

I sincerely wish the family the very best at this difficult time and hope they get the professional counselling they need.

On 2/12/2026 at 6:37 PM, ThaiTraveller2016 said:

No doubt it is tough for this family. But what assistance do they expect from the embassy? We all have to pay our own hospital bills. My insurer recently turned down treatment for a heart attack. Set me back 339K for 5 days in hospital. Before I was admitted, down payment was 250K.

This family must have known what the bill was going to be from the down payment. Repatriation 170K?

I do not disagree with you as I have been financially responsible and ranted about it to others.

But today I went to a funeral of a good friend in Bangkok. He had a heart attack and did not have 500,000 baht to pay the hospital. So the hospital sent him to Chula and he did not have 200,000 baht for the stent and heart surgery. He died 8 hours later.

While I have always preached financial responsibility, hard to lose a friend because he could not pay. Of course if we knew he needed money I am sure several of us would have contributed the 200,000 baht. Something seems unreal that our society allows a 64 year old man to die because he did not save money. When it hits home to someone you love it hurts. I am not saying you are wrong or arguing about anything. All I saying is people die who cannot afford medical care and somehow today for the first time in my life that seems inhuman to me.

RIP Mike. Miss you.

On 2/13/2026 at 9:09 AM, geisha said:

Sigmund, he had insurance but wasn’t covered for the type of motorbike/ scooter, or helmet, it doesn’t state which.

This is the problem.

If you try and rent a motorbike etc in Europe or western country, you have to show licenses / international etc. No one in the west drives without a helmet.

Thailand should/ must control these crooked bike rental shops, because they are renting to anyone and everybody, because they don’t give a flying if this person dies or is badly hurt. I once saw a boy of around 15 on a scooter, in Patong, obviously learning how to drive it. He was with his father by the looks of it. Ok, maybe he looked young, but he certainly couldn’t drive a scooter.

Come on Thailand, 40 million tourists , try and protect them with valid laws that are respected !!! Thailand is already one of the most dangerous places in the world concerning roads as we all know.

To be fair , the family of this boy have managed 170 thousand £. What a terrible situation to be in.

I hop on a motorcycle taxi in pattaya once or twice. The driver wears a helmet but they no longer provide the passenger with one. Apparently that is legal. Makes me wonder if my travel insurance or my own insurance covers me in case of an accident

On 2/13/2026 at 9:09 AM, geisha said:

Sigmund, he had insurance but wasn’t covered for the type of motorbike/ scooter, or helmet, it doesn’t state which.

This is the problem.

If you try and rent a motorbike etc in Europe or western country, you have to show licenses / international etc. No one in the west drives without a helmet.

Thailand should/ must control these crooked bike rental shops, because they are renting to anyone and everybody, because they don’t give a flying if this person dies or is badly hurt. I once saw a boy of around 15 on a scooter, in Patong, obviously learning how to drive it. He was with his father by the looks of it. Ok, maybe he looked young, but he certainly couldn’t drive a scooter.

Come on Thailand, 40 million tourists , try and protect them with valid laws that are respected !!! Thailand is already one of the most dangerous places in the world concerning roads as we all know.

To be fair , the family of this boy have managed 170 thousand £. What a terrible situation to be in.

I hop on a motorcycle taxi in pattaya once or twice. The driver wears a helmet but they no longer provide the passenger with one. Apparently that is legal. Makes me wonder if my travel insurance or my own insurance covers me in case of an accident

On 2/13/2026 at 11:31 AM, ericbj said:

If the cost of flying a seriously injured person is really 170,000 GBP as stated this sounds like a total rip-off. Unless it involves flying him to the U.K. in a private jet rather than making temporary modifications on a scheduled flight.

Individuals of adult age should have the option of choosing their insurance and adapting their activities accordingly, or having none at all. Free choice and individual responsibility. You need to be a millionaire to be fully covered for everything.

But governments of countries-of-origin, host-countries, airlines, and insurance companies should be jointly responsible for highlighting risks and consequences. To enable informed decision, especially by younger people who might otherwise give little thought to insurance to cover major accidents. Youth is by nature optimistic.

I imagine he needs hospital hookups, it's, incubation for breathing, etc.

On 2/13/2026 at 9:09 AM, geisha said:

Sigmund, he had insurance but wasn’t covered for the type of motorbike/ scooter, or helmet, it doesn’t state which.

This is the problem.

If you try and rent a motorbike etc in Europe or western country, you have to show licenses / international etc. No one in the west drives without a helmet.

Thailand should/ must control these crooked bike rental shops, because they are renting to anyone and everybody, because they don’t give a flying if this person dies or is badly hurt. I once saw a boy of around 15 on a scooter, in Patong, obviously learning how to drive it. He was with his father by the looks of it. Ok, maybe he looked young, but he certainly couldn’t drive a scooter.

Come on Thailand, 40 million tourists , try and protect them with valid laws that are respected !!! Thailand is already one of the most dangerous places in the world concerning roads as we all know.

To be fair , the family of this boy have managed 170 thousand £. What a terrible situation to be in.

I hop on a motorcycle taxi in pattaya once or twice. The driver wears a helmet but they no longer provide the passenger with one. Apparently that is legal. Makes me wonder if my travel insurance or my own insurance covers me in case of an accident

On 2/13/2026 at 11:31 AM, ericbj said:

If the cost of flying a seriously injured person is really 170,000 GBP as stated this sounds like a total rip-off. Unless it involves flying him to the U.K. in a private jet rather than making temporary modifications on a scheduled flight.

Individuals of adult age should have the option of choosing their insurance and adapting their activities accordingly, or having none at all. Free choice and individual responsibility. You need to be a millionaire to be fully covered for everything.

But governments of countries-of-origin, host-countries, airlines, and insurance companies should be jointly responsible for highlighting risks and consequences. To enable informed decision, especially by younger people who might otherwise give little thought to insurance to cover major accidents. Youth is by nature optimistic.

I imagine he needs hospital hookups, it's, tubes for breathing, etc.

20 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

I hop on a motorcycle taxi in pattaya once or twice. The driver wears a helmet but they no longer provide the passenger with one. Apparently that is legal. Makes me wonder if my travel insurance or my own insurance covers me in case of an accident

Who told you it was legal? Highly unlikely your insurance would pay. Buy one and carry it.

39 minutes ago, gk10012001 said:

The driver wears a helmet but they no longer provide the passenger with one. Apparently that is legal. Makes me wonder if my travel insurance or my own insurance covers me in case of an accident

No. Bet you 100 per cent they would deny your claim if you got head injury,you know in all probability they would

12 hours ago, wavodavo said:

Lets face it if they can't pay the hospital they wil stop the lifesaving treatment and he will die anyway.

Life is measured in baht here.

NEWS UPDATE

According to BBC News, and other media sources, this young man as passed away.

From the reports, its not clear whether he passed away in Thailand, or was repatriated either to the UK or Australia.

RIP young man

Insurance companies need to make it more clear if you ride a bike/scooter and crash then they will not cover you.