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

[Hummin]

1 hour ago, LisuLover said:

The British insurance industry know that there’s a huge problem with motorbike accidents in Thailand, so applications for cover should come with a comprehensive section to ascertain the applicants intentions. Instead of doing this insurance companies leave gaps and grey areas everywhere that they can exploit at a later date and when the damage is done. Primary blame lies with British insurers and the regulator to act instead of sitting on it fat a***

Or people is just to lazy or stupid to realize the responsibility lays with them! I thought this problem have been highlighted for years in UK media, and not any new issue! 

 

You want a basic  cheap insurance you buy a cheap insurance and get what you pay for. Always excuses

[Myran]

"Please contribute to the Gofundme so that we, the family, don't have to sell any of our possessions or take out a loan to pay for it ourselves."

 

This is what these types of campaigns read like to me.

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, redwood1 said:

If the 300 baht fee will not cover situations like this what will it cover...

It will help the unelected PM and his generals offshore bank accounts.

[roo860]

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

Indeed it does.

I was not aware of this social security, I admitted to a private hospital thinking my health insurance would cover it to waking 13 days later 70km away in government hospital.

 

Hope you're on the mend!

[Jonathan Swift]

People, if you buy insurance make sure you also have or know a lawyer you can bring into play for situations like this. It should be part of your plan and preparation. As soon as you bring an attorney in even without filing action you have raised the stakes and presented the insurer with the likelihood of paying huge damages and legal fees, and suddenly paying the actual claim is easier and cheaper. I have done this many times, enough times that I have often brought  action on my own without an attorney and gotten results. 

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, Xonax said:

In another article in a UK paper it was written, that the insurance had an exclusion written in fine print.

Fine print?? Exactly!

[bradiston]

15 minutes ago, superal said:

Had she not paid up or not had the means to , would the hospital do nothing and maybe let her die ?  Would a Thai be hit with the same bill ? I think not because she is being charged the falang price . This disgusting tactic has to stop , even if by international intervention that would expose Thailands corrupt nation . 

I am not too interested if she had insurance or not because insurance companies will always try to find ways to refuse to settle and even if they do they often drag their heels . 

We all know the dangers of riding motor bikes in Thailand but crossing the road is also a danger with pedestrian crossings included . 2 week tourists are  not so informed as well as long stayers and are not aware of the perils of Thailand . 

That 300 baht on arrival levy could have taken care of tourists insurance but once again money is number one in Thailand , even at the expence of a human life . There should be a health warning given to potential tourists to Thailand . 

Regarding last sentence - there is, at least for UK citizens:

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/safety-and-security

 

But the overall tone of your slightly hysterical rant is like, none of this is her fault and Thailand has a duty of care to all its visitors, and how badly she's been treated/ripped off. Well that's as maybe, but as for Thai citizens footing the bill for this girl's oversight, well, would you stump up £40,000 in your own country for a visitor who got involved in an RTA? And the 300 THB levy hasn't yet come in, and is in no way supposed to replace private travel insurance. If you can afford to pay the 300 THB, which is spread across multiple agencies, you should be able to afford proper insurance for all your activities in your destination country. I hope she gets well soon, and home safely. Lesson learned, bruises healed.

 

 

[Jonathan Swift]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

1. Tourists in Thailand only require a DL in English from their home country.

2. Liability should be on the hire company to check documents are in order.

 

The posters hating on this poor girl should be ashamed of themselves.

You need to get your facts straight before your bad advice causes serious problems for someone. As of right now you need an international or Thai drivers license, the police are staging checkpoints and handing out 1000 baht fines. Anyone with questions about this can simply go online to REPUTABLE sources and check the requirements, but CERTAINLY do NOT trust forums like this for obvious reasons. I have been stopped and fined twice during Covid. Drivers license is easy and cheap. 

[roo860]

8 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

Fine print?? Exactly!

Fine print or bold print, should be read, difference between insurance paying or not paying.

[Ralf001]

14 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Hope you're on the mend!

cheers.

Yeah being discharged today actually, then home to continue Physio.

[NoshowJones]

1 minute ago, roo860 said:

Fine print or bold print, should be read, difference between insurance paying or not paying.

Yes you are right, but the fact they are using fine print instead of just normal wording which everyone can understand just shows you what crooks they really are.

[Patong2021]

6 hours ago, jacko45k said:

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

No it is not.  She did not just have "broken bones". She had a complex fracture, and serious wounds in addition to the  general breaks.  ('Ruby arrived at hospital with a broken bone protruding from her right arm, four broken bones in her hand, a broken wrist, a broken collarbone and multiple lacerations all over her body.)  As soon as a bone perforates the  skin, it becomes a critical care case with potential for loss of the limb lacerations with a trauma event can result in serious infection leading to sepsis. ICU daily cost is around 100,000 baht. Post surgery care for serious trauma can easily exceed 50,000 baht per day.  I expect that hospital care costs without the procedures are in excess of 500,000 baht. There is an assumption that Thai medical doctors work for next to nothing. They do not.  The woman is lucky to be alive. 

[Jonathan Swift]

5 hours ago, 2008bangkok said:

Unfortunately Thai hospitals  have no compassion, its money on no treatment.

I remember my next door neighbor dying on the toilet, i got him off an laid him on the floor, when the ambulance arrived and they couldn't find his passport they just left him lying there until the morgue van came in the morning.

Which Thailand are you living in? I have been to Phaya Thai 1 hospital many many times, from routine treatments to several emergencies, and that includes dental work. I have consistently been treated with sensitivity and compassion, and the professionals there are exemplary in their dedication. I did it all as an outpatient and including meds I have never paid much more than about $300 US. I have been equally satisfied with other hospitals including Bangkok Hospital, where I got my Covid booster. But go ahead and complain, it's probably all you know how to do, and clearly you're not happy unless you're complaining about something. One experience does not define an entire country. And I find your toilet story dubious. There are numerous people online who make up stories to embellish a point. I'm personally quite happy here after 10 years, and have never encountered nor directly heard of anything such as you describe. BTW, did your dead neighbor complain about being left on the floor? Did you even so much as help get him onto a bed? 

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, mikeymike100 said:

Totally agree and now Covid is 'over' and many more tourists are here the hospitals are no doubt trying to make up for the short fall that happened during Covid?

IMO. I believe that the medical staff in some hospitals, particularly in Bangkok, have become very rich due to the pandemic, brown envelopes would again spring to mind.

[Jonathan Swift]

6 hours ago, bradiston said:

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!

Based on my brief wiki search it appears that Bangkok Hospital Group Co. Ltd. is a private for profit hospital and not government subsidized.

[BigStar]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

If that is the case, why use small print at all?. Why can't insurance companies just be upfront with their policies?

I know, silly question.

The supposed "fine print" is just an ANF Poster Myth to excuse the victim and place blame elsewhere. It's not in fine print, but stated up front; people are too lazy to read it. Example above, and we've had other examples in other threads.

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

Whilst I am sure you are correct, if they can wriggle out of paying they will?

Insurance companies like private hospitals in Thailand are there to make a profit?

Every company is out to make a profit, and rightly so, but there are right ways and wrong ways of doing it.

[jerrymahoney]

Sometimes this 'fine print' notion i think gets overplayed.

 

Whether it is the case in this instance or not, it would seem to me that some of the young motorbike hirers on the prime tourist spots might be fully aware that their insurance will not cover a motorbike accident but go ahead and ride one anyway because it certainly is not going to happen to them.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, NoshowJones said:

If that is the case, why use small print at all?. Why can't insurance companies just be upfront with their policies?

I know, silly question.

Most wouldn't bother buying them if they actually read the small print with all the opt-out clauses.

Some don't bother and just take it easy on holiday... not courting danger.

 

 

[racket]

According to Thai Law, the hospital must treat her whatever the cost. The hit and runner should be sued and thrown in jail for causing the accident. It’s clearly not her fault, but again, if she didn’t have a license and no helmet - the insurance company has no reason to pay. 
 

Things like this can and should be able to be resolved with installments. 

[sateuk]

They should have it everywhere at the airport, no bike license don't drive if you do and there's an accident , you will be locked up until you can pay the bill, and no crowd funding allowed your family gets the money or you do somehow!

[Ralf001]

3 hours ago, userabcd said:

Or the Thais made it legal to charge rich high earning westerners the real full price for medical treatment at their govt hospitals and Thais pay a subsidized price.

Recently cost me 300K + for a 3 night ICU stay in a private hospital.

Discharging today from government hospital.

9 weeks in ICU followed by 3 weeks in private ward room , total cost  580,000.

 

Is 580k the real full price..... or is it discounted due to social security covering it ?

Edited February 17, 2023 by Ralf001

[vandeventer]

9 hours ago, geisha said:

That’s the second girl in two weeks! Both on motorbikes and refused insurance. 

There are a lot of tourist that use their drivers license from back home that are for cars only not for motorcycles. The rental places still rent them out for the bucks but when the insurance see's this it is refused.

[billd766]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Trouble being the insurance companies pretend you are insured, until it comes time to pay out.

If they all had a warning 'We will not pay for m/c accidents' in big letters on the front of all brochures/adverts/policies it would be a lot more honest, and less of the fraudulent product it currently is.

IMHO the travel insurers should put in large text on the first page, that if you indulge in motorcycling, hang gliding etc, or other dangerous sports, that an extra and more expensive insurance will be required. Without the extra cover you are NOT insured if you take part in those activities.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Swift said:

You need to get your facts straight before your bad advice causes serious problems for someone. As of right now you need an international or Thai drivers license, the police are staging checkpoints and handing out 1000 baht fines. Anyone with questions about this can simply go online to REPUTABLE sources and check the requirements, but CERTAINLY do NOT trust forums like this for obvious reasons. I have been stopped and fined twice during Covid. Drivers license is easy and cheap. 

Complete nonsense.

 

[BritScot]

8 hours ago, SABloke said:

How do you know she didn't? 

Because the Thai Road off! I'm sure if she had caused the accident it would have stopped and demanded ridiculous amounts of money... That's why!

[billd766]

5 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

I surmise the insurance company refused to payout because she did not have either a Thai bike license or international bike license and therefore should not have been on it and was not covered. Tourists need to understand that hiring a bike without the proper credentials carries far more risk than a police fine. If you injure a local in an accident as well as yourself, then expect even larger financial implications. Ultimately, it is very simple - no license - no bike hire.

It is only that simple IF the laws are enforced. If the bike hirers ignore the law, and there is no enforcement, then the end result will end up as it has in this case.

[IamNoone88]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

1. Tourists in Thailand only require a DL in English from their home country.

2. Liability should be on the hire company to check documents are in order.

 

The posters hating on this poor girl should be ashamed of themselves.

Not to ride a motorbike - you need the correct license. Yes, the hire companies are also at fault.

[Gknrd]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Based on my brief wiki search it appears that Bangkok Hospital Group Co. Ltd. is a private for profit hospital and not government subsidized.

Yes, my girlfriend's sister works there. Every year she gets a bonus of 100K to 300K Baht. Makes around 90K / mo. As a nurse. Prices are pretty much on par with US prices.  

I snapped my wrist was in surgery for 5 hours and broke my collarbone.  Bill was 2000 dollars in Colombia a few years ago in the sticks. Government hospitals in Thailand in the sticks a few years ago were still very good value. Now?  I would hate to get anything done there personally including dental..

Edited February 17, 2023 by Gknrd

[BEngBKK]

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