British family's appeal to get Morpeth teacher home from Thailand after she fell 20ft when balcony collapsed

[Liverpool Lou]

6 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It was likely what you would call proper health insurance cover - it was obtained through her employer - but capped at a very low rate.

As speculation is, once again, the order of the day...

it was likely what you would call proper health insurance cover - it was obtained through her employer [was it?] - but capped at a very low rate and voluntarily accepted by her as sufficient.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Who is the owner of the "fence" that she and her friend broke?

There's an echo in here!

It's hollow vessels that cause echoes!

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"...flawed buildings with poor maintenance..."

Amazing how you can know that.   Perhaps the all-day party had something to do with the incident?

Indeed, it's quite reasonable to expect a balcony to collapse after slightly more than normal use, I'm sure it happens all the time ????

How do you know what use the balcony had?   "Slightly more than normal use"...says who?  What were the (at least) two people involved doing when the accident happened?

 

 

By the way, apparently the balcony didn't collapse, the handrail gave way.

[Sheryl]

21 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

As speculation is, once again, the order of the day...

it was likely what you would call proper health insurance cover - it was obtained through her employer [was it?] - but capped at a very low rate and voluntarily accepted by her as sufficient.

Article stated it was insurance through the school.

 

Private schools typically provide private cover rather than SS, but the policies are of very, very low value.

 

Yes, she accepted it and did not get any additional cover. But she may have (wrongly) just assumed that what the school provided must be enough. Not everyone is familiar with health care costs in Thailand. And it might seem odd to a foreigner that an employer would claim to offer health insurance but do so through policies so low in value as to be of no real worth.

 

As I understand it the law allows private schools to opt out of SS as long as they provide insurance of some sort but makes no requirement as to level of cover, so  schools can and do provide very low budget plans. She is hardly the first person to be caught in this dilemma as a result.

[daveAustin]

7 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Nobody mentioned her weight... 

Are you serious! Can’t help yourself can you fella. Some of individuals should have a good look at yourselves. Good chance her family will be reading. 

[Liverpool Lou]

22 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

47 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

As speculation is, once again, the order of the day...

it was likely what you would call proper health insurance cover - it was obtained through her employer [was it?] - but capped at a very low rate and voluntarily accepted by her as sufficient.

Article stated it was insurance through the school.

Which article?   I couldn't see that specifically mentioned in the OP or the linked article.

[CharlieH]

15 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Which article?   I couldn't see that specifically mentioned in the OP or the linked article.

Only ref I could see in the linked article was this;

 

"Katie said Jill's health insurance covered a trip in the ambulance and her stay in ICU at a private hospital. But her coverage has now been used up and she has been moved to a government hospital."

[Scott Tracy]

No personal health insurance including repatration...?

 

From reading other people's posts, evidently the school provided cover, and it amounted to an ambulance trip and a stay in ICU. Dang...

 

Why not stay here and recover here, is the UK National Health Service better? I guess there's family there though. A place to stay for full recovery. Physio...support... God bless. I hope you get well soon and sue the backside off the people whose handrail collapsed. 

[Pattaya Spotter]

Bummer.

[Pattaya Spotter]

8 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

It's because being accountable and excepting responsibility for something that you personally own and maintain are extremely rare here. 

When accidents happen, it is always someone else's fault.

I believe balconies collapse in many countries...even whole condo buildings (Seaside, Florida) killing hundreds ????‍♂️ 

[Liverpool Lou]

34 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Only ref I could see in the linked article was this;

 

"Katie said Jill's health insurance covered a trip in the ambulance and her stay in ICU at a private hospital. But her coverage has now been used up and she has been moved to a government hospital."

Yes, clearly, that's the only reference that there was but the mod I was responding to about speculation claimed to have seen it somewhere.    Hope she didn't mind my asking. 

[robblok]

59 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Only ref I could see in the linked article was this;

 

"Katie said Jill's health insurance covered a trip in the ambulance and her stay in ICU at a private hospital. But her coverage has now been used up and she has been moved to a government hospital."

Add to that the cover was used up after 10 days then her cover was not high. 

[The Hammer2021]

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

True of majority of countries.

 

Those that offer financial assistance etc are the outliers.

I suggested assistance. I did not mention  financial  assistance but I would not preclude a loan of some sort. But to neglect a citizens in pain and distress and turn them into an international  beggar and just wqsh their hand of them is deeply shameful.

[pixelaoffy]

Hope there will be sites in UK that say exactly 'in Thailand ' it happened...a country steeled in hypocrisy and BS

[Mac Mickmanus]

11 minutes ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I suggested assistance. I did not mention  financial  assistance but I would not preclude a loan of some sort. But to neglect a citizens in pain and distress and turn them into an international  beggar and just wqsh their hand of them is deeply shameful.

If you don't want them to become "beggars" and asking other people for money, how would you rectify that situation, without financial aid to them ?

   If you don't want them to use gofundme, you would have to give then financial aid yourself 

[DavisH]

10 hours ago, MaiDong said:

It's no help to this poor lady, but whenever I'm in an elevated position and relying on handrails or balustrades, I either give them a kick or a palm to check their sturdiness, I don't trust any structures at all here. 

 A silinar incident happend to someone I knew in Australia. Fell through a balcony and busted her arm badly, requiring a metal plate to be inserter in her forearm. She got a large payout (I think 100K+AU) form the government as the house was her mother'd government house (and the bad railing had been previously reported but not fixed). 

[fredscats]

10 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

That was my whole point, no one can foresee the future and knowing that I have 40 million baht coverage for private health cover puts me at ease.

 

Have been to government hospitals (outpatient) and to private hospitals (outpatient), no doubt the government hospitals are cheaper than the private hospitals, but to me, the wait is like 5-10 minutes to see a Dr vs 3-4 hours, and maybe 15-30 minutes to see a specialist vs come back tomorrow at the public hospital and wait 3-4 hours again.

 

If I had to stay in the government hospitals that I have been too, they are not up to my standard like back at home in Oz, just comparing government to government hospitals, also finding an English speaking doctor or nurse in a government hospital here has been very limited vs a private hospital from my experiences.

 

It all boils down to choices and financial standings, so if it costs me to be covered for private, then I choose to pay for it, I could self insure to protect my savings, but how much of a hit do I want to take when I know for the cost of a couple of beers a day, I am covered for 40 mil baht and my savings won't take a hit, no different to insuring your car or house, albeit health insurance is more expensive because it costs more for everything associated with health.

 

Like I said, it boils down to choices, financial standings & covering my savings, and I feel that in a private you get treated better as they have better trained staff and more modern up to date tech when it comes to being thoroughly examined vs a government hospital. 

 

Do you think is she had health insurance cover she would still be here or her family requiring to go begging for help ?

40 mil,that will be some payment every month/year. Been here and other places for 20 odd years no insurance cept accident cover,about 4 thousand a year ,plus free ride home for 21 quid a year payment

 

Not getting into this insurance stuff,only one winner and it sure aint you

 

If elective/selective surgery  far far cheaper out of Thailand

[fredscats]

2 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I suggested assistance. I did not mention  financial  assistance but I would not preclude a loan of some sort. But to neglect a citizens in pain and distress and turn them into an international  beggar and just wqsh their hand of them is deeply shameful.

UK govt  will give loans for this type of incident

 

  ICU/private hospital,...now your talking turkey

[MUSTYJACK]

14 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Another tragedy where the British authorities fail to help their citizens in stark comparison  to other nations

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country."

 

Educated at the UK taxpayers expense, she left the UK  taking her knowledge and experience with her. 

 

As tragic as her situation is, it is not for the UK taxpayer to pay for her treatment whilst abroad nor pay for her repatriation. That is the responsibility of either her insurance company, the school she was employed by, or the owner of the apartment who failed to maintain it to a safe standard. This being Thailand of course, it is likely that her insurance company, the school and the landlord will do everything possible to avoid their responsibilities, both legal and moral, and abandon the poor woman to her fate. A "go fund me" page is usually the saviour of injured and under insured expats, lets hope she has generous supporters back home.

 

Rest assured though, that once back in the UK, she will be treated for free for her injuries and that the years of subsequent ongoing care that she will need will be of a much higher standard than in Thailand, where once the money has run out, (in her case 10 days) she will be on her own, providing of course that she did not cut all ties with the UK when she left and is still legally entitled to free treatment, care and medication by the NHS.

 

Looking at her fundraising page, the link is there in the original article, there have been some very generous donations by her friends, there are no local names though, if she was teaching at a private school surely some of her pupils parents would have been moved to put their hands in their pockets to help her out? 

 

 

[burner2014]

19 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Time and time again, I keep saying people living here, especially those who qualify age wise, should seriously have private health cover with repatriation which is usually in the policy.

 

"Katie said Jill's health insurance covered a trip in the ambulance and her stay in ICU at a private hospital. But her coverage has now been used up and she has been moved to a government hospital.

She said: "At the moment she is in a Thai government hospital, she's been there about a week.

"She had an operation where metal rods were inserted to take some of the pressure off her nerves.

"They don't know about long-term damage at the moment. We were initially told it would take two years before she would be walking again but we just don't know."

 

At 47 one would doubt that private health insurance with repatriation being part of the policy would be that expensive, now the family is left with this big financial burden to clean up which could have been avoided.

 

I wish her a speedy recovery and hope others listen up as we don't know what tomorrow brings, in Jill's case a lot to deal with without the backing of a private health insurer because she didn't have the right policy.

 

Good point on Repatriation. I think I book that package as well next year just to be safe. Luma offers Assistance Plus which has the return to your country of nationality included.

But then again I just checked how much my private insurance with Luma covers per year, it's roughly 1 million USD. So she had to had a quite poor Insurance to use up 1 million USD? Am I wrong? Or what does an ICU cost per day? 
 

You normally covered for 99% problems you can have and the private hospitals here are top notch. I mean I would prefer often a good Bangkok hospital vs one in Europe. Her case is quite special but I agree that Repatriation part is something to keep in mind which can come handy in cases like this.

 

[nausea]

If you're poor, don't travel. It's always been a rich man's game. We get these poor people doing their thing, one or two are gonna end in tragedy. Such is life.

[4MyEgo]

8 hours ago, fredscats said:

40 mil,that will be some payment every month/year. Been here and other places for 20 odd years no insurance cept accident cover,about 4 thousand a year ,plus free ride home for 21 quid a year payment

 

Not getting into this insurance stuff,only one winner and it sure aint you

 

If elective/selective surgery  far far cheaper out of Thailand

6,000 Baht per month, like I said a couple of bottle of beer per day, which I don't need to kill my liver and brain cells sitting on a bar stool, that said, everything in moderation of course.

 

Your accident cover would be very limited, have you checked out your policy and what is covered ?

 

21 quid a year would give you squat and if it were so easy everyone would be onto it, this is where people become unstuck when they have their heads in the clouds thinking for 21 quid there cover is enough, and of course will find out you get what you pay for.

 

Would love for you to post here what cover the 21 quid covers you for and what your limit is.

 

Sheryl pointed out in an earlier reply that the woman employer paid for her Thai insurance which of course was limited as she has found out, that said, she probably didn't even know what she was covered for and the rest of the story is like a record on a turn table going around and around, we hearing the same song every month of every year, GoFundMe and others.

 

Elective surgery is far cheaper in Thailand if you want to use the government hospitals and hotels are cheap as well, that said, you get what you pay for, personally, I would be picking who is going to be putting the knife into me when it comes to elective surgery, not someone I know nothing about or what his qualifications are, and I would want a room to myself, but then again, each to their own, 21 quid, I would bet for that amount that you don't even know what your covered for, but hey you sleep well at night until, and I hope that day never comes for you to find out what a nightmare you could be in.

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, burner2014 said:

Good point on Repatriation. I think I book that package as well next year just to be safe. Luma offers Assistance Plus which has the return to your country of nationality included.

But then again I just checked how much my private insurance with Luma covers per year, it's roughly 1 million USD. So she had to had a quite poor Insurance to use up 1 million USD? Am I wrong? Or what does an ICU cost per day? 
 

You normally covered for 99% problems you can have and the private hospitals here are top notch. I mean I would prefer often a good Bangkok hospital vs one in Europe. Her case is quite special but I agree that Repatriation part is something to keep in mind which can come handy in cases like this.

 

Sheryl replied back to an earlier post of mine, apparently her cover was paid for by her Thai employer here in Thailand who went through a Thai insurer which provided either limited cover or her annual amount ran out which in my opinion was inadequate cover, hence the reason she was transferred to a government hospital.

 

What most people fail to also understand is that some private insurers offer excess or waivers which allows the insured the choice to pay a reduce cost to their normal annual premium amount, e.g. my insurance doesn't have any excess/waiver, it's straight up, the insurer pays for my total costs and I am with them because they cover my pre-existing condition (which is optional), i.e. I could pay a lessor amount to have the pre-existing condition not covered, up to me, but it's minimal to me, e.g. $60USD per month.

 

The above said if I wanted to opt out and go with another insurer who wouldn't cover my pre-existing condition, I could pay another insurer the excess/waiver amount in the event that I needed surgery or in an emergency situation, e.g. I know April for one has an excess/waiver starting at I believe 32,000 going all the way up to in the 300,000's, so if I chose one, the annual policy amount that one would pay, would drop dramatically, albeit in the event of surgery or an accident I would have to pay the excess/waiver amount that I chose first, then the insurer would cover the balance, and with the 5 year age brackets, insurance policies go up a lot, starting with the (59-64) year bracket, so I will be looking into this mid next year when my policy is up for renewal. 

 

We all know cover is important, and those who cannot afford it or cannot get covered because of their ages are left to the government hospitals to be treated, no other choice for them, and some are quite good, for other like myself, I prefer to have private cover as I want to chose which hospital I am going to and what Dr is going to slice me open, however the whole point is not to even go there, but to have the choice and that is what you pay for.

[fredscats]

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

Sheryl replied back to an earlier post of mine, apparently her cover was paid for by her Thai employer here in Thailand who went through a Thai insurer which provided either limited cover or her annual amount ran out which in my opinion was inadequate cover, hence the reason she was transferred to a government hospital.

 

What most people fail to also understand is that some private insurers offer excess or waivers which allows the insured the choice to pay a reduce cost to their normal annual premium amount, e.g. my insurance doesn't have any excess/waiver, it's straight up, the insurer pays for my total costs and I am with them because they cover my pre-existing condition (which is optional), i.e. I could pay a lessor amount to have the pre-existing condition not covered, up to me, but it's minimal to me, e.g. $60USD per month.

 

The above said if I wanted to opt out and go with another insurer who wouldn't cover my pre-existing condition, I could pay another insurer the excess/waiver amount in the event that I needed surgery or in an emergency situation, e.g. I know April for one has an excess/waiver starting at I believe 32,000 going all the way up to in the 300,000's, so if I chose one, the annual policy amount that one would pay, would drop dramatically, albeit in the event of surgery or an accident I would have to pay the excess/waiver amount that I chose first, then the insurer would cover the balance, and with the 5 year age brackets, insurance policies go up a lot, starting with the (59-64) year bracket, so I will be looking into this mid next year when my policy is up for renewal. 

 

We all know cover is important, and those who cannot afford it or cannot get covered because of their ages are left to the government hospitals to be treated, no other choice for them, and some are quite good, for other like myself, I prefer to have private cover as I want to chose which hospital I am going to and what Dr is going to slice me open, however the whole point is not to even go there, but to have the choice and that is what you pay for.

I'm not writing forever on this,obv u have x on your side.

Purely accident cover,few 00 thousands enough,21quid a year mercy flight(past employment)

 

Past surgery? 430000 quote Thailand,700USD India paid,private room,.....googled hospital doctor/hospital for reputation,can you really Thailand?  Yes terrific treatment, over one week,as was 2 other surgical tasks later, under 5000 baht return,yes made good choice,think of those savings Ive made over 20 years

 

Guy here 71 years paid 100 quid a week(a week) "how lucky I am he quoted at the time" to have ins cover,no need back to blighty as 50 mil did not cover aspects of treatment,total waste

 

PS ,even if you have to go near the limit of treatment your ins covers u for,I consider life for an individual in TH is finished,climate,health needs ,convalescence takes its toll

[473geo]

Can't really understand the long discussions on Medical insurance cover, if one can very comfortably afford the policies available, the cover is adequate then it is a no brainer get cover 

If a fully comprehensive is too expensive then it becomes a juggling act taking preventative measures where possible looking into obtaining the best cover available to you at any time, or perhaps if your health is good periods of saving to cover any future costs outside insurance.

I do admire those who have sourced cheaper medical services in India great initiative

[burner2014]

It's funny it comes always down to insurance cover. Always. And a fund raiser because of lack of insurance cover.

Otherwise this story is tragic, but wouldn't be in the news would it? ????

Wish her all the best, but yeah every few month another of these stories. One thing you need in Thailand is a good health insurance coverage. You don't want to end up in government hospitals, was there before and not again. 

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, burner2014 said:

You don't want to end up in government hospitals, was there before and not again. 

And yet I have pals who swear by the treatment they got at one......

[473geo]

25 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

And yet I have pals who swear by the treatment they got at one......

I got seen right away, put in 30+ stitches and on my way, very efficient cost 800 baht but was many years ago ????

Two births in the immediate family went fine...... difficult to fault something that has worked for you 

[fredscats]

On 12/29/2021 at 11:04 AM, NanaSomchai said:

I wouldn't trust anything at all here either.

even my own shadow

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 12/29/2021 at 5:47 PM, Pattaya Spotter said:

I believe balconies collapse in many countries...even whole condo buildings (Seaside, Florida) killing hundreds ????‍♂️ 

The condo board in Florida appointed an administrator to compensate the victims.

 

What has the owner of the Thai building done to compensate the victim of this incident?