British woman, 20, left for dead in hit and run motorbike crash faces being thrown out of Thai hospital despite horrifying injuries after being hit with £40,000 medical bill

[Reigntax]

You haven’t experienced the real Thailand until you have been hit by another vehicle at fault and they have driven off

[OneMoreFarang]

It's interesting that many people here think a hospital bill for 40k GBP is outrageous in Thailand, it's not!

Maybe many can't imagine this kind of invoice. But talk to people who are used to these kind of cases and they won't be surprised.

I worked with a company who managed these kind of cases and I saw the numbers. Ouch! 

[jerrymahoney]

Just to note from the crowd funder:

 

Ruby was riding a motorbike in Thailand when another motorbike travelling in the opposite direction went to overtake on the wrong side of the road and ploughed into her.

 

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rubyspry

 

And from the DailyMail linked article:

 

But ahead of taking up the offer <Costa Rica> she had wanted to see Thailand and was on a Thai island when the crash occurred on February 9.

 

 

[jessy88]

Ain't been to Thailand for along time but had bike accident in France and shattered my shoulder emergency op etc ..my ehic card weren't excepted because of Brexit ..so was billed ...3k...maybe 4 with aftercare and meds etc ..so what justifies 40k? <deleted> take...plus France gave payment option...to pay over time.  

[AussieinThaiJim]

Redoculous £40,000 for a few broken bones !

[SuperSilverHaze]

The post is poorly written, wildly overly dramatic and makes assertions and claims the author does not substantiate

[bradiston]

A tourist friend recently suffered a severe gash to his leg falling off his motorbike. Nobody else involved. Got taken to Bangkok Hospital. His insurance had expired. Got sent to government hospital. They stitched him up, kept him in for 3 days, and presented him with a bill for 17,000 THB, which I think was entirely reasonable, probably a complete bargain. Friends bailed him out as he'd mislaid his cards. 17,000 is far from a fortune, and affordable for most travellers. He's back on his feet, and his bike. That's partly what the 300 THB is for. The hospital is government subsidised, and my friend, as a tourist, makes no contribution to that subsidy. Only the Thai taxpayer does that.

 

Of course, comparisons don't always apply, and this article appeared in the Mail, a not too reputable rag, with few details. For instance, where did it happen? What hospital? If there were questions about this woman's insurance cover, and her ability to pay, why proceed with extremely costly surgery, when alternatives (public hospital possibly) existed? It didn't appear to be life threatening, so moving her to a public hospital would seem to have been in her interests, at least, for her immediate wellbeing. She's unlikely to do a runner with 7 broken bones on the mend.

 

We read of cases like this regularly, but always sourced from an overseas newspaper. Badly researched and sensationalist. Did the Mail send a reporter out to Thailand? Nah. Just copied it off the wire. How accurate are the figures? £40,000 is an astronomical sum. A cautionary tale nonetheless.

 

Just my 300 THB worth!

[Eloquent pilgrim]

34 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I have had a bad wrist injury where rods were used at BHP.

 

Are we allowed to guess at how you sustained a bad wrist injury

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Gknrd]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

 £40,000, that is 1,640,000 baht, insanely expensive for broken bones.

What I was thinking, They are raking her over the coals big time. Thailand!  Where everyone wants to go for cheap medical tourism.. hahahaha

 

[Kenchamp]

I'de be amazed if she has a legitimate motorbike license and at 20 years old definitely not much experience riding bikes. Too easy to rent bikes here.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

At 1.6+ million baht owing to them the hospital has every right to asks for their money, the problem is with the UK travel insurance that drags their feet in covering the expenses and not adding to the already mounting miseries and pains of everybody.

And why not name the insurance company? Hmm? It's not like in Thailand where you'd get sued for defamation.

But this accident is another reason why, when anyone has asked me if Thais drive on the left or right, I answer yes. Whichever suits them. I should also add to them that it is normal for Thais to not take responsibility for anything, ever, so the other motorcyclist riding away is perfectly normal behaviour in the Land of Smiles.

 

Of course, we don't know for sure that the other driver was a Thai, but the accident occurred in Thailand and they were driving like a Thai and acted like a Thai in fleeing the scene, so the overwhelming odds are that it was a Thai.

[smedly]

1 hour ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Another day, another British (woman) motorcycle accident GoFundMe.

 

While perhaps not at fault for the accident. Indirectly at fault for getting on a bike in Thailand anyway.

 

Cheap thrills, cheap transportation not so cheap...

 

40k GBP did she get a boob job as well? Oh, that's right it's perfectly legal and ethical to Thais to charge foreigners triple rates. So, what should be 13k is 40k. I see how that works.

 

Get well soon hon.

 

GoFundMe cut off the campaign for Canadian truckers during covid. Never see a satang from me.

I generally agree with most of your post but "British Woman" was not called for, many people have accidents here while on holiday and they definetly are not all British women 

 

Hospils here are a racket (out of control) and there is no legislation to stop them - a look into the ownership of these establishments will reveal all.

 

I would like to see a breakdown of her bill itemised for every baht - ok she had a few broken bones which generally are not serious injuries in the grand scheme of things - dare I say routine - how her bill came to be almost 2m baht is quite frankly verging on extortion - Thailand is in need of a regulatary body to bring these theives under scrutiny - as far as I know there is no such thing and it is obvious why

[Ashlin Schopper]

One question: did she have a legal, valid, non-expired Thai driver's license or legal, valid, and non-expired international driving permit ? Insurance will ALWAYS sell you plans just like sketchy (all?) motorbike rental places will rent you a motorbike regardless whether you have a Thai driver's license or international license. 

 

The "let's blame the insurance company" or "let's blame the hospital" mentality is wrong. Blame the idiot farang who come to Thailand with no proper license or international permit and blame the idiot motorbike rental shops who put money and greed over the safety of tourists.

 

End of rant.

[Tarteso]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Why aren't the insurers paying out? I'm guessing no helmet or licence 

Excess alcohol or drugs also leaves you out of coverage..????

[dallen52]

1 hour ago, Funkymover said:

And I thought the government pay , after all didn't they just say, they pay out over 400 million baht on tourists  medical bills and that's the reason for the new, 300 baht landing tax 

Which with 20 million visitors annually will reap 6 billion baht. 

[Donbuie3]

Unfortunately I’ve seen too many tourists with no motorcycle experience, hiring and riding motorcycles.
The locals have been on motorcycles, likely since they were 10 or 11 years old but there are so many serious accidents and fatalities among them too, so experience is no guarantee of safety. My wife has lost at least two male cousins through motor cycle accidents and another left a paraplegic, who eventually committed suicide due to the condition.

Lately the trend seems to be towards big motor cycles with the locals rather than the usual 110 and 125cc models so that’s not going to end well either. 

[pokerface1]

1 hour ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

Exactly. This is extortion and should be a criminal offense. Treating a few broken bones does not cost 1.5 million baht. Not even close. They're overcharging her because she literally has no choice except pay up.

The insurance company known its a rip off as well. That's possibly why there relutant to payout. 

[Don Chance]

Women are identifying with men and taking more and more risks. But not men who are consciousness unfortunately.

[Celsius]

She seems to be ok

 

[it is what it is]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

At 1.6+ million baht owing to them the hospital has every right to asks for their money, the problem is with the UK travel insurance that drags their feet in covering the expenses and not adding to the already mounting miseries and pains of everybody.

 

do you know that motorcycle riding was included in the cover? where's evidence to support your comment?

 

i have had two large claims from uk insurers, in excess of 40,000GBP, i found the companies to be efficient, professional and payment prompt and in full.

[Ralf001]

She should call their bluff (tossing her out) and transfer to a government hospital.

Also 40k...........surely the family could pass the hat around instead of begging online.

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Another day, another British (woman) motorcycle accident GoFundMe.

 

While perhaps not at fault for the accident. Indirectly at fault for getting on a bike in Thailand anyway.

 

Cheap thrills, cheap transportation not so cheap...

 

40k GBP did she get a boob job as well? Oh, that's right it's perfectly legal and ethical to Thais to charge foreigners triple rates. So, what should be 13k is 40k. I see how that works.

 

Get well soon hon.

 

GoFundMe cut off the campaign for Canadian truckers during covid. Never see a satang from me.

You seem a bit confused.

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, jerrymahoney said:

Just to note from the crowd funder:

 

Ruby was riding a motorbike in Thailand when another motorbike travelling in the opposite direction went to overtake on the wrong side of the road and ploughed into her.

 

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rubyspry

 

And from the DailyMail linked article:

 

But ahead of taking up the offer <Costa Rica> she had wanted to see Thailand and was on a Thai island when the crash occurred on February 9.

 

 

From the link, she appears happy and smiling, out of hospital, and they've already reached £30,000. My heart's stopped bleeding.

[swm59nj]

From how it sounds she was in extremely serious condition.  The story says she had a seven hour operation.  Which would be very extreme to begin with. . I would think that would justify the high medical cost alone. Also  with the aftercare she had to receive.   It’s not like she just had a broken arm and it was put in a cast. 
Too many people think they come to Thailand and everything should be inexpensive or a freebie.  Unfortunately that is not the case. 
The story says the “ Insurance. Company Is Dragging Their Heels ”.  That could mean the company is being slow to pay.  It doesn’t say they are refusing to pay.  


 

[bradiston]

2 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

From how it sounds she was in extremely serious condition.  The story says she had a seven hour operation.  Which would be very extreme to begin with. . I would think that would justify the high medical cost alone. Also  with the aftercare she had to receive.   It’s not like she just had a broken arm and it was put in a cast. 
Too many people think they come to Thailand and everything should be inexpensive or a freebie.  Unfortunately that is not the case. 
The story says the “ Insurance. Company Is Dragging Their Heels ”.  That could mean the company is being slow to pay.  It doesn’t say they are refusing to pay.  


 

The family say now they are refusing. But with no further details, it's all meaningless.

[jerrymahoney]

4 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

The story says the “ Insurance. Company Is Dragging Their Heels ”.  That could mean the company is being slow to pay.  It doesn’t say they are refusing to pay.  

From the crowd funding page:

 

Now we know the insurance company aren't going to pay out we’re fundraising to try and raise some of the costs we need to cover Ruby's surgery, hospital care and to bring her back home to recover. 

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rubyspry

 

[itsari]

The unfortunate female rider will receive 728 pounds from the por ror bor which will i am sure cover the ambulance costs 

[wombat]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Why aren't the insurers paying out? I'm guessing no helmet or licence 

You would need to read the fine print on the policy....what travel insurance doesn't cover would scare many out of traveling 

[redwood1]

For the longest time the 300 baht fee was 100% all going to pay medical expenses of farang with no money like this girl.....

 

Now they say 90% of the 300 for other stuff and maybe 10% medical.....Which really means I bet less than 5% medical...

[Expat68]

I am not sure where they arrive at these fees? I had a operation in the most expensive hospital in Bangkok, stayed 6 days in a luxurious private room, all medicines, doctor visits and it did not come to one eighth of that bill