Backpacker who broke her neck jumping into pool in Thailand describes her recovery

The Matt Hampson Foundation is funding Sophie Wilson's rehabilitation

 

Sophie Wilson was just days into a six-month tour of Asia when the accident happened

 

A backpacker who broke her neck in Thailand and is facing a long battle to walk again is raising funds for a charity dedicated to helping people who have suffered life altering and catastrophic sporting injuries.

 

Sophie Wilson, of Shepshed, was just six days into a planned six-month trip around Asia when she broke her neck, diving into shallow water at a pool bar.

 

The 24-year-old suffered a severe spinal fracture and a compressed spinal cord, leaving her unable to move anything from the collarbone down.

 

Her parents, John and Jane, who are self-employed gardeners, flew out to Thailand following the incident.

 

Her family launched a go fund me page to get her home when her insurer refused to pay out after the accident on December 1.

 

The worldwide appeal reached more than £60,000 in five days.

 

Full story: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/backpacker-who-broke-neck-jumping-3587451

 

-- Leicestershire Live 2019-11-29

The worst part of this, given the current level of agitation over insurance, was this girl did all the rights things, had insurance yet the snakes refused to pay up!

 

Insurance companies the world over are really really good at taking your money, yet really really good at finding ways to not pay out. 

A nightmare, hope she recovers. I've stopped diving no matter what...

36 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

The worst part of this, given the current level of agitation over insurance, was this girl did all the rights things, had insurance yet the snakes refused to pay up!

 

Insurance companies the world over are really really good at taking your money, yet really really good at finding ways to not pay out. 

Is she the one that had been drinking when the accident happened? Also, there was a No Diving sign at the pool, sadly, that's more than enough for insurance not to pay, a court of law would probably back the insurer.

 

Nevertheless, hope she makes a full recovery.

heartbreaking...

1 hour ago, GinBoy2 said:

The worst part of this, given the current level of agitation over insurance, was this girl did all the rights things, had insurance yet the snakes refused to pay up!

 

Insurance companies the world over are really really good at taking your money, yet really really good at finding ways to not pay out. 

That's why they employ loss adjusters it's their job to weasle out of paying

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

The worst part of this, given the current level of agitation over insurance, was this girl did all the rights things, had insurance yet the snakes refused to pay up!

 

What was the reason for them to not pay up? And which company was it? If it's mine i 'll cancel my contract.

2 hours ago, phka said:

That's why they employ loss adjusters it's their job to weasle out of paying

I totally agree with the use of the word 'weasel'.

 

Loss adjusters do and should deny payment where there is fraud, but unfortunately they go way beyond that mandate to try to find any technicality in order to deny payment to customers

very misleading headline, you dont break your neck by JUMPING into a pool and it turns out she DIVED into a pool, that was dumb for starters

2 hours ago, phka said:

That's why they employ loss adjusters it's their job to weasle out of paying

Diving into a shallow pool while drunk in spite of a sign explicitly forbidding diving.

 

Tantamount to trying to cross the M20 at rush hour with your eyes closed while being under the influence, and then claiming a huge payout from an insurer for being involved in an accident.

 

Won't fly, I'm afraid.

read the small print before buying as it has so many get out clauses so as not to pay up

When in Thailand, avoid diving at all costs ... pool, cliff or muff. Nothing good comes from it!

47 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

When in Thailand, avoid diving at all costs ... pool, cliff or muff. Nothing good comes from it!

You can add any shallow pool in the world to that. Even if it does NOT state that " diving is strictly forbidden".

Contrary wise, a muff sporting a sign "dive straight in" can be enticing, as long as you keep a sharp lookout for all escape routes.

Ignorance of common sense and precaution.

Insurance should not pay.

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Sophie Wilson, of Shepshed, was just six days into a planned six-month trip around Asia when she broke her neck, diving into shallow water at a pool bar.

Was she drunk? When I was in Thailand at this local cascade, I saw a few Thai kids jumping in the water. I had the same idea of jumping but I thought that I might hit my head on a rock and end up dead. So I controlled my instincts and stayed away from that area. 

3 hours ago, mercman24 said:

very misleading headline, you dont break your neck by JUMPING into a pool and it turns out she DIVED into a pool, that was dumb for starters

Well dumb she may well have been, but who among us hasn't been dumb?

 

My car insurance policy doesn't specify that if I'm driving the speed limit with 2 feet of snow on the ground, which is dumb, and I spin out wreaking my car they don't pay.

 

Now we have no idea who wrote the policy, but in general, the cheaper the policy, the more weaseling out clauses will be embedded in the small print, which of course none of us read!

Can we just call her a tourist?

9 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

embedded in the small print, which of course none of us read!

I am one of those strange people who reads it all ????

19 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

The worst part of this, given the current level of agitation over insurance, was this girl did all the rights things, had insurance yet the snakes refused to pay up!

 

Insurance companies the world over are really really good at taking your money, yet really really good at finding ways to not pay out. 

You obviously know nothing about insurance. No holiday policy will cover you for getting you home when you are unfit to travel.  She was paralysed !!  Also no ones knows what cover she had. Insurance companies won't just hand out money after a few days because she needs it !

7 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

You obviously know nothing about insurance. No holiday policy will cover you for getting you home when you are unfit to travel.  She was paralysed !!  Also no ones knows what cover she had. Insurance companies won't just hand out money after a few days because she needs it !

I broke my neck in Thailand in 1988 and was paralysed from the neck down. My holiday insurance paid all the bills and organised a Doctor to come out from the UK and escort me home. They used a scissor lift to get me into the Thai Airways plane and the Doctor was sat next me in first class!

19 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

The worst part of this, given the current level of agitation over insurance, was this girl did all the rights things, had insurance yet the snakes refused to pay up!

 

Insurance companies the world over are really really good at taking your money, yet really really good at finding ways to not pay out. 

Oh dear...going over old ground again are we? Big sign "Do Not Jump" yet she jumps. Now it is the Insurers fault is it? "She did all the right things".......check your facts!

Ever heard of "reading the small print" because believe it or not, that is where it tells you what is covered and what is not. Taking stupid risks against all warnings is not covered. 

At least the hospital bill in Thailand was paid.
She doesn't belong to the half of the foreigners that don't pay...

12 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Well dumb she may well have been, but who among us hasn't been dumb?

 

My car insurance policy doesn't specify that if I'm driving the speed limit with 2 feet of snow on the ground, which is dumb, and I spin out wreaking my car they don't pay.

 

Now we have no idea who wrote the policy, but in general, the cheaper the policy, the more weaseling out clauses will be embedded in the small print, which of course none of us read!

You speak like an insurance expert, which you most definitely are not!. In all walks of life you get what you pay for. Want the cheapest price then you get the least cover. Is that a little too difficult for you to grasp? It isn't about getting out of paying, it is about paying for that is covered (which you elect by the way, not the Insurer). Personally I am sick of people whinging about insurance companies when they obviously believe they are some kind of charity who should pay out regardless, just because the insured is having a bad time. Bet you are not a shareholder of any Insurance Company, then you may have slightly different views. Heard of "priced to risk"?

 

Your car insurer states you are covered even if you drive in snow. So long as you have not been negligent or stupid you continue to be covered. If you decide to drive at 50mph in 2ft of snow then they would argue that you had been negligent. Any sane person would agree with that.

 

I have never read an insurance policy that has a clause that states "OK to be dumb. We are all dumb....so have no fears, we will pay out even when you have been really dumb".........just like you for thinking diving in a pool when it warns "DO NOT" is dumb but OK. Doh!!

 

Suggest you go and read up on how insurance actually works before making childish allegations and comments for people to ridicule.

The insurance company in question was named as Insure and Go (according to a BBC report dated 27 December 2018).  This is a  apparently a low cost travel insurance company who aims their business at specifically low cost travellers e.g. backpackers.

 

According to the BBC report, Insure and Go said in a statement: "We do understand that people go on holiday to have fun and enjoy themselves, but we are not able to cover circumstances where a customer has acted in a way that puts themselves at risk".

 

"This is clearly stated in the policy terms and conditions."

 

If the insurance companies statement above is to be believed, perhaps they should have made it clear in their policy (in big bold letters), that travelling to Thailand is likely to be putting yourself at risk and, therefore, we (the insurance company) won't pay out for anything that happens to you whilst your there.

 

If I recall correctly, at the time this hit the news last year, the company (Insure and Go) was being investigated by the UK Financial Ombudsman following complaints that it (the company) had refused a very high number of allegedly valid claims.

This is exactly the reason why I don't dive into a pool that has no diving signs displayed when Iam drunk !!

1 hour ago, jaiyen said:

You obviously know nothing about insurance. No holiday policy will cover you for getting you home when you are unfit to travel. ..

 

Actually that is one of the standard things such policies do pay for.

 

The issue as I understand it was that she dove head first into a shallow pool at a bar under the influence of alcohol. Some reports that a "no diving" sign was posted as well though that part is not sure. The insurance company is saying this comes under the exclusion for injuries sustained as a result of being under the influence/acting in a reckless or illegal manner or something like that.

 

Likely  the fact that it occurred in the middle of the night at a bar caught their attention from the get go.

 

Family can appeal to the UK Ombudsman. Maybe 50-50 chance they'd prevail.

 

 

P.S. The company was "Insure and Go".

 

But pretty much all travel insurance (and even general health insurance) policies have general exclusions for injuries suffered due to negligence or intoxication. The following is from Insure and Go's list of General Exclusoons (which are not in small print):

 

"8. Any claim arising directly from you, your partner, relative or your travelling companion consuming alcohol"

 

18. Any claim arising from you being involved in any deliberate, malicious, reckless, illegal or criminal act."

 

As soon as any insurance company sees something like diving on the premises of a bar in the middle of the night, red flags would go up and they'd look more closely.

 

While these quotes are specific to Insure and Go you will find similiar in the General Conditions of any policy. None will insure you for injuries that occur as a direct result of being drunk or high nor for injuries that result from recklessness usually defined as something an ordinary prudent person would not do.  Now obviously there is some subjectivity with both of these things. The alcohol consumption must be a direct cause of the injury, simply having consumed alcohol by itself is not a disqualifier. And there is also room for debate around what constitutes deliberate recklessness. 

 

One would assume the family has appealed but either lost or the appeal is still in progress.

 

 

1 hour ago, thaiowl said:

I broke my neck in Thailand in 1988 and was paralysed from the neck down. My holiday insurance paid all the bills and organised a Doctor to come out from the UK and escort me home. They used a scissor lift to get me into the Thai Airways plane and the Doctor was sat next me in first class!

A bit of a drastic way to get a seat upgrade.

2 hours ago, thaiowl said:

I broke my neck in Thailand in 1988 and was paralysed from the neck down. My holiday insurance paid all the bills and organised a Doctor to come out from the UK and escort me home. They used a scissor lift to get me into the Thai Airways plane and the Doctor was sat next me in first class!

I would wager that you weren't under the influence of alcohol or drugs and had dived into the shallow end of a pool in defiance of the posted "No Diving Allowed" sign.

17 hours ago, Bullie said:

Tantamount to trying to cross the M20 at rush hour with your eyes closed while being under the influence,

Yet only in a recent thread some posters said pedestrian is NEVER at  fault in many  countries