British woman breaks nearly every bone in face in Thailand

[roo860]

51 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

Serious question, would a full face helmet actually have helped in this situation?  I thought those were mostly to keep bugs and debris away?

Absolutely would have, I know through experience. 

[The Fugitive]

12 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Last year I was admitted to the Government hospital in Chiang Rai as an emergency, I had stepped on an old rebar wire sticking out of the ground, it had gone into my foot and although I cleaned and dressed the wound it had rapidly gone sceptic. The poison was spreading. I went to my local hospital, they immediately transferred me by ambulance to the provincial hospital and I had immediate surgery, waking up that night on a ward, with half my foot cut away - the tendons were fully exposed!

 

Nobody even mentioned money.

 

I had further surgery three days later.

 

When I was ready to be discharged a finance person came to see me. The bill was about B35k. My insurance declined to pay, blaming it on a pre-existing condition (diabetes) so I stumped up B24000 in cash, and we created a payment plan for the rest.

 

Throughout ( including the ongoing outpatient treatment) the hospital finance people have been perfectly reasonable; the insurance company (UK based) have been a bunch of cheating charlatans, about as much use as an ashtray on a motorcycle.

Wow! Thanks for this. I trust/hope you are now fully recovered? Agree that the Government hospital were most reasonable as was their bill.

[2009]

1 hour ago, AAArdvark said:

Serious question, would a full face helmet actually have helped in this situation?  I thought those were mostly to keep bugs and debris away?

Lemme see, landing face first on the ground with a full face helmet, vs nothing on your face...hmmmm

[Chongalulu]

9 hours ago, roo860 said:

Open face helmet I would guess, full face for me, regardless of weather or distance to travel, but that's my choice. On many occasions seen foreigners with chin straps that lose won't help in a accident.

Exactly,mine is Arai ,a proper CE approved branded full face helmet too which I wear with protective motorcycle gloves even for a 1 kilometer trip to the local shop. It takes less than 30 seconds to put it all on properly .

Tourists simply don’t understand their travel insurance doesn’t cover them.

[VinnieK]

6 hours ago, Lacrimas said:

Probably watching too many of those stupid influencers

Everyone wants to be a famous  YouTuber now

[Lucky Bones]

43 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Not with a broken back!

Ok.

But it there no such thing as a boat anymore?????????

[Lucky Bones]

41 minutes ago, Mansell said:

I figured out when I started riding big bikes that in a crash my jaw would probably be broken if not shattered. So I opted for a full face helmet for safety that cost 600 dollars. Well worth the money.

Young and invincible, and caught out by the insurance companies crafty exclusions. Sand or wet leaves on a bend are an accident waiting to happen, and part time riders have no clue of this danger. Very sad she took the brunt of the accident, and on her face. At least she lived to continue her life.

I think you will find that biting off your tongue rather than breaking your jaw is the problam (sic).????????

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, AAArdvark said:

Serious question, would a full face helmet actually have helped in this situation?  I thought those were mostly to keep bugs and debris away?

Structurally far better anyway in any circumstance and absolutely way better protection in a face plant type accident. Especially if you’ve bought a properly approved helmet. Mine cost several hundred £ UK . Cheap helmets are for cheap heads .

[Scouse123]

56 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Not with a broken back!

Okay

 

Then she needs to be out of the private medical system where bills are accruing daily for money she doesn't have. She needs to get to a government hospital.

 

Beggars can't be choosers.

 

Because in the private sector they are not going to stop charging daily.

[RickyJB]

Surprised the old bill didnt find something to charge her with too. Any chance to extract money.. i had an accident in Phuket few years ago, not my fault, but i got told by local scumbag cop, if you not in Thailand, no accident. . Idiot that crashed into me, demanded 30 thousand, but when police came, went up to 50,000. I was the one that ended up in hospital. . corrupt ,when i went to the police station next day to pay, found out it was a set up. Warned to pay or get deported.. i refuse to get on a motorbike now in Thailand. 

[MrJ2U]

I don't think many travel insurers cover motorcycle or scooter rentals in Thailand.   

 

Whatever they do cover is still hard to get money back for.

 

Sad nonetheless and hopefully she'll have enough donations to cover the surgery. 

[Mark Nothing]

I rented a motorscooter on Samui island one year and it was broken down, unsafe old pile of junk.  But as a new tourist excited to enjoy my holiday, I just took it as is.  Brakes were bad, mirrors broken, gears wouldn't shift smoothly.

 

The hilly, blind roads on Samui were very dangerous for an inexperienced motorbike rider.  Many times blind roads had speeding cars and motorscooters coming out of nowhere requiring immediate evasive action.

 

Also I didn't know about road rules in Thailand.  Bigger vehicles just taking the right of way at intersections turning right in front of you as if you weren't there, unlike back home.

 

Samui is not an ideal location for an inexperienced tourist to ride a scooter.  It is a good lesson to be safe, and I hope she recovers.

 

 

[Joinaman]

8 hours ago, Silencer said:

After rain, so many dangerous curves on the roads of Samui (and the other islands) with dirt and sand deposits that last several days. Couple that with many inexperienced drivers and I see tourist crashes every week, sometimes every day.  The standard motorbike rental helmets are a joke, colorful ornaments that barely reach the top of the ears. I hope she makes a full recovery. 

im on Koh Phanagn, and all i see are idiot tourists flying down the roads without helmets, wrong side of the road, trying to overtake on bends, etc I see so may that have crashed on the sandy corners that they take too fast, A few times have had them fly past me, only to find them picking up the bike a few corners later

i live on a junction, and never go more than a couple of nights without some biker crashing

had 2 last night within 15 minutes, , but it keeps the clinic in business dealing with what we call the Phanagn tattoos and the bike rentals rich 

[The Fugitive]

10 minutes ago, RickyJB said:

Surprised the old bill didnt find something to charge her with too. Any chance to extract money.. i had an accident in Phuket few years ago, not my fault, but i got told by local scumbag cop, if you not in Thailand, no accident. . Idiot that crashed into me, demanded 30 thousand, but when police came, went up to 50,000. I was the one that ended up in hospital. . corrupt ,when i went to the police station next day to pay, found out it was a set up. Warned to pay or get deported.. i refuse to get on a motorbike now in Thailand. 

Thanks for the warning. You had to pay your hospital bill for an accident that wasn't your fault plus 30,000 to the responsible driver plus 20,000 to the police. Agree, bus or taxi avoids all that.

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

bus or taxi avoids all that.

Not being afraid of your own shadow avoids all that.....   

[damo1967]

10 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Taking time away from her career at 28?  They mean she quit?

Sounds serious and bad for her, but ignorance or lack of awareness of her insurance seems a poor excuse. 

Hope she gets sufficient donations sorry, I will not be making one.

Free Credit Card Insurance = basically no worthwhile coverage... A decent travel insurance contract can be like $100 - $200.  Just a small amount for total peace of mind.   I will also not contribute to any GoFundMe for these people who think they can skimp and then rely on GoFundMe requests..  pfftt.

[cheapcanuck]

Poor soul.

[PeeJayEm]

Awful about the accident.

 

But no sympathy for the lack if insurance. - Why on earth would anyone think their credit card would cover Medical Emergency / Accident Insurance without checking that?  It would be a massive fixed fee-paying card if any such is indeed available.

 

[Foexie]

Why bother to wear a helmet and have a real Insurance ?! If have an accident let other peoples just pay the bills.

[shackleton]

This seems to be happening a lot to tourists on motor bikes

Accident then find out not covered insurance wise ????

It's a god send people can ask on the Gofund me website for funding to help out hospital wise????

Hope she recovers soon  

 

[Purdey]

Many people come to Thailand thinking it represents total freedom. So they break the rules, like careless driving, drugs and waterfall accidents.

When everything comes back to bite them then suddenly it is back to begging strangers for help.

First thing is to get her moved to a government hospital for cheaper initial treatment, then fly back to the uk for surgery.

[phil2407]

So for example if the BF has the correct driving licence or she uses a Win rider but still an accident as she was riding pillion - whose responsible? If he doesn't have the correct licence then surely the place that rented out the scooter also at fault - but as TIT guessing they'll be wanting money for repairs (inflated of course) & no prosecution - pretty lady as well 

[proton]

1 minute ago, Purdey said:

Many people come to Thailand thinking it represents total freedom. So they break the rules, like careless driving, drugs and waterfall accidents.

When everything comes back to bite them then suddenly it is back to begging strangers for help.

First thing is to get her moved to a government hospital for cheaper initial treatment, then fly back to the uk for surgery.

The <deleted> on Tik Tok etc has a lot to answer for eg: POV: we thew in our, jobs moved to Thailand on a one way ticket and decided to tour on bikes ????

[PeeJayEm]

5 minutes ago, damo1967 said:

Free Credit Card Insurance = basically no worthwhile coverage... A decent travel insurance contract can be like $100 - $200.  Just a small amount for total peace of mind.   I will also not contribute to any GoFundMe for these people who think they can skimp and then rely on GoFundMe requests..  pfftt.

"travel insurance" as the term is used in UK is often mainly about just that - travel: - delays, cancellations, inconveniences, loss of bags etc.  Some accidental cover may be there but in many policies it's trifling.    But folk often just look at the price and will pay £20 expecting to be covered infinitely when decent medical / accident / repatriation emergency cover costs £150 or more for 3 months depending on age and any medical preconditions. I always look for at least £5 million cover and get the premium down bay acceptation the highest excess available (usually about £1,000).

[sikishrory]

I remember looking at my policy and seeing something like "must be licensed to ride motorcycle". I imagine the only way to be covered is to hold a Thai motorcycle licence.  Probably same goes for cars.  

Probably 90% of tourists here are not covered by insurance let alone licensed for a motorcycle here or at home.

Some rental shops advertise insurance but probably just to cover their bikes as is standard issue with all registration in Thailand. I think that's very misleading as well. 

Whatever happened to the much advertised news that all renters must provide insurance. That was just a few years ago... 

[Hellfire]

 Simple rule to follow: never ride a scooter in Thailand . The Thais ride their m/bikes from the age 10. They are also buddhists and do not really care if they die next minute. For British atheists with zero experience of riding a two wheel vehicle - this is the worst choice of transportation method possible.

 

[still kicking]

8 hours ago, Adumbration said:

Her face is worthy of reconstruction.

Let's have a look at your face then 

[Thaijack2014]

And? Did she wear a helmet? Not much revealed on how she could smash her pretty face like that. A few years ago i slid with my bike and if at that time i would not have a decent helmet it could have been the same with me.

[Powder]

very sad story for this young woman.

Even if she is a passenger its worth a question? Is'nt the bf responisible, he was the driver.

If he does not have a license, they are very stupid.

Both of them should know making a holiday to  foreign countries, a travellinginsurance is a must.

Bad preperation or are they so ignorant and think: if something happens we gofunding?

This happens already so many times in Thailand, when they start to use common sense

 

[Powder]

very sad story for this young woman.

Even if she is a passenger its worth a question? Is'nt the bf responisible, he was the driver.

If he does not have a license, they are very stupid.

Both of them should know making a holiday to  foreign countries, a travellinginsurance is a must.

Bad preperation or are they so ignorant and think: if something happens we gofunding?

This happens already so many times in Thailand, when they start to use common sense