British woman breaks nearly every bone in face in Thailand

[Paris333]

£1300 is not huge ammount for public donation.You save the double amount of money to go to Thailand for your vacation and you havent saved money for your health. £1300 cost breakfast meals in British Embassy in Bangkok. Are you kidding?

[PETERTHEEATER]

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

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 !!

 

 

 

I once had a policy which stated that it did not cover 'climbing neccessitating the use of ropes'

I managed to speak to one of their agents and asked him, if I was to climb the north face of the Eiger without ropes and fell down would I be covered?

He blustered and I never did get a straight answer!

[dj230]

12 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.

When I went to a private hospital they did the ER first but asked for payment before surgery 

[Lucky Bones]

9 minutes ago, dj230 said:

When I went to a private hospital they did the ER first but asked for payment before surgery 

If you go to a private hospital they will tell you that you need urgent treatment.

It is how they make money.????????

[Flink]

12 hours ago, steve187 said:

same old same old, riding a m/cycle in Thailand without having the correct licence and or insurance to do so. she thought she was covered by her credit card.

If she'd been covered by a suitable, tested and approved, full face crash helmet she might have fared better.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Lucky Bones said:

Ok.

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

What century are you living in?!   Regardless of that, how is travelling on a boat for weeks with broken back vertebrae going to be any less difficult than flying?

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

The BBC article states the couple hired a moto and also that her boyfriend was not seriously hurt in the crash. Putting two and two together he must have been the rider (driver). Unless they were three up!

The other link specifically states that she was the pasenger.

[Lucky Bones]

3 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

What century are you living in?!   Regardless of that, how is travelling on a boat for weeks with broken back vertebrae going to be any less difficult than flying?

Did it in my day.

Used to live in a hole in the road or a shoebox.???????? 

[sabai-dee-man]

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

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 !!

 

 

 

Highly unlikely (if you're talking about "alpine skiing"), unless you paid extra for "extreme sports" cover.

[Liverpool Lou]

6 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

13 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

What century are you living in?!   Regardless of that, how is travelling on a boat for weeks with broken back vertebrae going to be any less difficult than flying?

Did it in my day.

Used to live in a hole in the road or a shoebox.???????? 

You didn't do any international maritime trips, then, unless that shoebox was in Belgravia!

[aussienam]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense.   By law, insurer's cannot hide policy conditions in "the fine print", something that doesn't exist in insurance policies, never mind being there in large volumes.  All policy holders are told to check the conditions of the policy.

Let me guess, you are an insurance agent!  A lot of people who 'should' spend time to thoroughly check conditions of their policy I am guessing  don't.  Okay, you are right about not literally 'hiding' in the fine print, but eyes glaze over for many after reading pages of this stuff.  Yes, policy holders should check their policy.  They are not all told.  I haven't when I have taken out online policies. Maybe the advice is there somewhere on the screen.  But I am savvy enough now to check anyway.  Others are not. There is an obvious failing as people are still falling into the trap of being under insured, or uninsurable due to their actions/activities.  Insurance companies could do a better job of highlighting the dangers IMO.  

[connda]

Insurance is a major scam.

 

[Liverpool Lou]

1 minute ago, aussienam said:

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense.   By law, insurer's cannot hide policy conditions in "the fine print", something that doesn't exist in insurance policies, never mind being there in large volumes.  All policy holders are told to check the conditions of the policy.

Let me guess, you are an insurance agent! 

I was in the insurance and associated business and was a broker for a few years.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 minute ago, connda said:

Insurance is a major scam.

 

An inane assertion posted by someone who knows nothing about the business.   The insurance industry is highly regulated and if it was a scam wouldn't still be around. Somewhere in the region of 90% of all insurance claims are paid out to the claimants/policy holders, and when you need it, you'll find that it isn't a scam 

[kennw]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

Distraught family need to raise £50,000 for woman's medical bills after Thailand scooter crash
By Adam Smith, Wolverhampton

A Wolverhampton social worker on the holiday of a lifetime will spend Christmas in a Thailand hospital after suffering a catastrophic scooter crash.

 

 

Jo Hoffman smashed every bone in her face and broke her spine in four places during the crash and now desperately needs £50,000 to pay for vital treatment needed to recover.

 

The 28-year-old's frantic family back home can only wait for sporadic updates about Jo's health as she lies in agony in her hospital bed wondering if there will be enough money for her next procedure.

 

Geneva Hoffman, from the Merry Hill area of the city, has launched a Gofundme page to raise money for the spiralling medical bills after her sister's credit card travel insurance did not cover medical bills.

 

She told the Express & Star: "The whole family is so upset, my parents are really struggling not being able to see Jo and knowing she is suffering so far away.

 

"She will be in hospital for Christmas and we don't know when she will be getting back home because she might have to stay until the medical bills are paid off, it is a nightmare."

 

She said: "Jo has been looking forward to this holiday for so long, she has taken time away from her career for the first time ever and was going to New Zealand after Thailand.

 

Full story: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/2022/12/17/distraught-family-need-to-raise-50000-for-wolverhampton-womans-medical-bills-after-sickening-thailand-scooter-crash/

 

-- © Copyright Express & Star 2022-12-17

Ask for the very rich private hospitals for compassion and help 55555

[gerritkaew]

not every hospital is the same, my friend broke his leg wile walk on the street and hit by m bike, one hospital ask 400,000b and the next 40.000.

And thay work the same, only a litle less to pay...

 

I gues, as other doctors...

[newnative]

    Sorry, no sympathy.  She had no business driving a motorcycle.  Likely she had no motorcycle license or training.  I've said it before, tourists should not be allowed to rent motorcycles.  At the very least, rentals should be limited to those who can produce a valid motorcycle license from their home country, as well as insurance.

[gomangosteen]

1 minute ago, newnative said:

    Sorry, no sympathy.  She had no business driving a motorcycle.  Likely she had no motorcycle license or training.  I've said it before, tourists should not be allowed to rent motorcycles.  At the very least, rentals should be limited to those who can produce a valid motorcycle license from their home country, as well as insurance.

No doubt you've 'said it before'

 

Bust as others have also said before - as does the article,  she was not driving the motorcycle. 

 

She was pillion. 

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, newnative said:

    Sorry, no sympathy.  She had no business driving a motorcycle.  Likely she had no motorcycle license or training. 

Sometimes its better to stay silent and have people suspect you are stupid than to speak out and remove all doubt !!....  

 

She was a passenger on the motorcycle.... 

 

And people don’t ‘drive’ motorcycles, they ‘ride’ them !... 

 

8 minutes ago, newnative said:

I've said it before, tourists should not be allowed to rent motorcycles. 

Why not ?... whats wrong with a Tourist renting a motorcycle?

 

8 minutes ago, newnative said:

At the very least, rentals should be limited to those who can produce a valid motorcycle license from their home country, as well as insurance.

That is actually the law here...   but the point is moot, the injured lady was not riding and didn’t need a licence to ride pillion. 

 

 

[findlay13]

1 hour ago, Flink said:

If she'd been covered by a suitable, tested and approved, full face crash helmet she might have fared better.

Facially yes undoubtedly,I wear a full face when riding,but if her back is broken.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, sabai-dee-man said:

Highly unlikely (if you're talking about "alpine skiing"), unless you paid extra for "extreme sports" cover.

Its not unlikely at all...

Been doing this for years, always need to get clarification from the insurance provider as their terminology can be vague. 

 

Different health insurance policies have different levels of cover. 

 

A lot of polices will cover skiing on piste and off-piste but only with a guide, but not for competition etc - but we have to get them to specifically state that. 

 

Other policies are vague and use the phrasing ‘dangerous activities’ and we have to get in writing that the policy does not classify alpine skiing as dangerous activity, or confirm that they don’t cover skiing at all. 

 

The same applies for scuba diving. 

 

 

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours 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.

 

2 hours ago, cheapcanuck said:

Poor soul.

There's two contrasting ways of looking at it.

I must confess that I tend towards the second.  "Pfftt" indeed - not a lot of the milk of human kindness in that glass!

 

I doubt that she ever had the slightest intention of relying on "go fund me". She assumed, perhaps foolishly, that her existing travel insurance, through her credit card company, would cover her. The " go fund me" campaign has been started by her sister in the UK.

 

She certainly needs to get herself moved to the government hospital. The medical care is just as good - although the food is awful!

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, findlay13 said:

1 hour ago, Flink said:

If she'd been covered by a suitable, tested and approved, full face crash helmet she might have fared better.

Facially yes undoubtedly,I wear a full face when riding, but if her back is broken.

For the most part I ride with a jacket which has a back protector...  and full face helmet etc. 

But when on the local soi's popping down to 7-11 etc I forgo the ‘gear’... 

 

 

I wonder how fast they were going for her to have such severe injuries... 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, herfiehandbag said:

She assumed, perhaps foolishly, that her existing travel insurance, through her credit card company, would cover her.

Is there any explanation of why the ‘travel insurance through her credit card’ has refused to cover her ???

 

i.e. did they have a specific motorcycle exclusion or something similar ?

[soi3eddie]

9 hours ago, steven100 said:

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.

Exactly. I have met a fair number of people over the last couple of years complaining that they "don't want to spend savings". Situations like this and the pandemic are surely the reasons people should have savings. Seems they never want to use those savings and expect someone else or government to pay the bills.

 

[herfiehandbag]

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Is there any explanation of why the ‘travel insurance through her credit card’ has refused to cover her ???

 

i.e. did they have a specific motorcycle exclusion or something similar ?

In my experience (explained in an earlier post) insurance companies will find a way out if they possibly can. In my case, they claimed that a badly poisoned foot, the result of standing on a rusty rebar wire sticking out of the ground, was not covered because I had diabetes.

 

Talk about stretching the "pre-existing condition" clause! 

[Spock]

12 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

 

 

To be fair, I frequently use motorbike taxis in Bangkok without a helmet, largely because there is no other choice of transport. I am surprised that travel insurance did not cover someone who is a passenger and wearing a helmet. Can't see how the girl can really be blamed in this instance. 

[Spock]

10 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

one can only feel pity for her while wondering how stupid one can be by traveling without insurance!

She had insurance. 

[Spock]

9 hours ago, bristolgeoff said:

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

Why don't you read the article? She had insurance via the cc and a motor bike licence is surely not required if you are a passenger. She also had a helmet. Perhaps the problem was that her boyfriend had no licence.

[Andrew65]

5 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

Although the article doesn't say, it's likely the rider (driver) would have been her boyfriend. How many people in UK hold motorcycle riding licences?

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think in the UK if you have a full car licence you're licenced to ride motorcycles up to 125cc.