British woman breaks nearly every bone in face in Thailand

[sqwakvfr]

I have investigated fatal and very serious traffic collisions but I have never seen anyone who "broke nearly every bone in her face"?   Is she in a coma?  Injuries of this magnitude are usually fatal.  

 

Also, the medical bills are one thing but next will come the medical evacuation back to the UK.  Possibly a nurse would have to accompany her in business class or even possibly a medical charter flight.  50K might just be a starting point.  

 

Very sad story.  

[BananaStrong]

39 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

Her face is worthy of reconstruction.

Wow.   Sad you feel like a comment like this is necessary in a time of great sadness for her and her family.

 

Merry Christmas to you.    

[smedly]

patch her up so she is able to fly, she doesn't need everthing done here in Thailand

[orchis]

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

Is she in a coma?

no. if you care to read the article.

[sateuk]

Absolutely she should of been aware her insurance was no good, But also the police should go to the hire shop and close them down and they should be forced to pay a percentage of her fees , as they know what will happen if tourists have accidents and don't have licences, close any shop down immediately and fine them if they rent a bike out to a non licensed rider

[Bluespunk]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

i reckon no helmet is more likely which might be why any health insurance she had was invalid.

From the OP

 

”Jo suffered severe injuries, despite the fact she had been wearing a helmet.”

[rankric]

Social workers have a rough time seeing a lot of unfortunate situations. At 28 just after a pandemic i completely understand the need to take a break and she seems to have garnered a lot of support with 444 donations totalling over 11k so far. Hope it continues. Get well.

[2009]

So sad.

 

The number 1 thing I'd change about Thailand is the <deleted> driving.

[KhunLA]

Did we, TH have a new tourist arrival tax that was supposed to help pay tourist hospital bills ?

 

What happen to that ?

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/tourism/tourism-insurance-fee-will-cover-all-foreigners-entering-thailand

[Elkski]

Just so many dangerous areas of road.  Finished in  conditions not allowed in more advanced countries.  

[MJCM]

4 hours ago, Mino said:

Few years ago I need to be hospitalised and before can go in, they ask me 10,000 THB cash deposit and to check my insurance. Of course it was not a government hospital.

Same here (Private Hospital) I was rushed to the Emergency Room (on a suspected heart attack) and they connected the heart monitor and IV. Almost Immediately a Woman from Insurance department came and asked my wife for 30k THB. When my wife presented my insurance card and they got the go-ahead from the insurance.

 

Total bill, with 1 night stay was over 60k THB incl a "stress test" etc etc the following day (insurance paid it all)

[steven100]

family can get a loan back home ( line of credit )  to pay the hospital.  sell the car, borrow on the house mortgage,  go to the casino.  Lets see what the go fund me raises.

[The Fugitive]

12 minutes ago, sateuk said:

Absolutely she should of been aware her insurance was no good, But also the police should go to the hire shop and close them down and they should be forced to pay a percentage of her fees , as they know what will happen if tourists have accidents and don't have licences, close any shop down immediately and fine them if they rent a bike out to a non licensed rider

Top comment! Primarily we are responsible for our own actions. Ensure you have travel insurance and that it covers all the hazardous activities you intend (or are likely) to participate in. Also check what the maximum pay out and excess would be in the event of a claim. If you can't/wouldn't (or are not licenced) to ride a moto in your home Country, why do people believe it's OK to do so abroad?

[scubascuba3]

Family should pay the bills and take it out her inheritance, why should strangers pay

[bristolgeoff]

Once again no bike license and a helmet otherwise  her bones will not be broken.Health insurance that is another issue she forgot,leave it to the family and the go fund me page please help.sister had a accident we need lots of money to pay bills.Let others to pay the bills because they will feel sorry for her.No way she will be another stat on accidents and no health insurance

[khunPer]

6 hours ago, roo860 said:

She was a passenger 

But still not covered by insurance, always check that you are covered before sitting on a motorbike in Thailand – and especially on Koh Samui – even when riding pillion.

[Andrew65]

6 hours ago, steve187 said:

sorry should i have posted being on a m/cycle.

the post was generic to all the posts that appear on here about being on a m/cycle with either no insurance, or not being covered by the insurance they do hold, or not having a licence, i would think it was not a very good helmet or was unfastened, Koh Samui is high on the list of places for m/cycle crashes.

As has been mentioned on here before, I don't think travel insurance covers us for medical bills incurred from motorcycle accidents, even if we do have a licence. Would probably be the same for things like water-skiing or diving etc, unless specified on the policy.

[Mavideol]

it has been quite a while we didn't had a "go fund me" request

[aussienam]

The woman made a terrible mistake not having appropriate insurance cover.  I hope she recovers. The article reads as though she did have insurance.  Lots of conditions can void cover even if she was covered for riding/being a passenger.  

People going on vacation are often prompted to take cover when booking flights by affiliated links and think all is good to go.  

Insurance companies are to blame in part by being more interested in taking money for policies but hiding a lot of details in large volumes of fine print.  They could do a much better job highlighting problematic areas where policy holders often think they're properly covered but are not.  Many inferior cover insurance policies out there just happy to take your money.  

 

Of course we should all spend an hour or two reading insurance terms and conditions and other information before paying for a policy.  I used to download the documents and run word searches on 'motor bike', 'motorbike', 'motor cycle', 'motorcycle' which would bring up those relevant sections.  Alcohol, drugs, speeding, no helmet, engine capacity limits (often no more than 125 or 150cc) are some main ones for voiding cover.  Plenty of other conditions may void cover as well. 

[SmokeandIce]

18 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Considering all those broken bones, she doesn't look too bad. Just keep it like that. ???? 

I am sure the photo was taken before the accident.  

[Blue Muton]

6 hours ago, VinnieK said:

Sorry..my bad 

I believe foreign embassies should alter their warnings list..

#1 Don't ride on a motorbike on Thai roads (driver or pillion) under any circumstances 

These young dumdums have no clue on the amount of tomfoolery that happens on Thai roads

 

 

From the arrival it’s clear that she’s a 28 year old professional, not sure how you twist that into ‘These  young dumdums....’

[wombat]

7 hours ago, steve187 said:

Koh Samui is high on the list of places for m/cycle crashes.

The winds blow a thin covering of sand over smooth tar and your wheels dissapear from underneath you ....it has to be the deadliest place on the planet for motorbikes

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, SmokeandIce said:

I am sure the photo was taken before the accident.  

Really? Thanks for letting me know. I never thought about that option.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, wombat said:

The winds blow a thin covering of sand over smooth tar and your wheels dissapear from underneath you ....it has to be the deadliest place on the planet for motorbikes

And if you know that then you can ride accordingly.

It's like all those typical driver excuses: I had this accident because it was raining... 

[d4dang]

it is rare to see a full helmet in Thailand. I had a friend in Pattaya who did the face plant off his big bike. He had a full helmet and walked away. I have never seen anyone wearing one riding a scooter or small bikes. This girl's story is a wake up call. 

[richard_smith237]

I wonder how many people get misled by their ‘credit card companies’ and believe they have decent cover when in fact their cover is useless... 

 

Just trying to get information out of these companies is extremely difficult. 

 

I’m trying to find out of my Wife and Son have cover for skiing - these insurance companies do not like to respond with specifics !!

 

 

 

[aussienam]

3 hours ago, smedly said:

patch her up so she is able to fly, she doesn't need everthing done here in Thailand

I dare say that she is not certified as 'fit to fly', being a requirement.  She has spinal injuries as well.  No airline would accept.  Also liability and cost issues.  She cannot sit on a regular seat so cannot accommodate her.  A chartered jet for medivac would be needed once she is stable enough and as her insurance claim has been rejected the costs would be extreme. 

 

Only choice is to get her to reach a level of medical improvement in Thailand where she can safely travel on a regular airline seat back to her country, which is what the goal would of course be. 

[wombat]

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And if you know that then you can ride accordingly.

It's like all those typical driver excuses: I had this accident because it was raining... 

Not even knowing that helps on Samui.

It's a deadly mofo of a place on a bike

[sqwakvfr]

3 hours ago, orchis said:

no. if you care to read the article.

I stopped reading articles because often they incomplete or not accurate.  I believe there are 14 bones in a human face.  So mostly means how many?  

[richard_smith237]

I wonder what insurance she thought she had... Also, on what grounds the insurance refused cover. 

 

i.e. Did the insurance refuse cover because she was on a motorcycle (passenger with a helmet) ?

e.g. does the insurance have a full on exclusion for any motorcycle riding full stop ???

 

-------

 

There was a lots of discussion regarding arrivals being charged xxx Baht (500 baht ?) so that medical expenses can be covered - is this not yet in place? or has it been forgotten about already ?

And... IS this sort of incident exactly what this ’tourist charge’ is for ?