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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


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8 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

There are a high number of road traffic accidents in Thailand especially involving motorcycles. The World Health Organisation (WHO) rates Thailand as the world’s deadliest countries for fatalities on motorcycles.

No kidding. I'm a careful person, always looking left and right, but was hit by motorbikes twice over the years, just crossing the road! Fortunately, no damage done to me or the rider, except a small scratch on my leg the second time.

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5 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Is there different rules for brits than rest of the Europe? I need IDP when have Norwegian License, and my license shows multiple languages inc English 

IDP is required in Thailand for tourists on short-term stays without m/c licences that are

1. in English or

2. Don't clearly state class of vehicle permitted to ride.

 

They are also required by corrupt Thai police extorting foreigners.

 

Edited by BritManToo
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4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

IDP is required in Thailand for tourists on short-term stays without m/c licences that are

1. in English or

2. Don't clearly state class of vehicle permitted to ride.

 

They are also required by corrupt Thai police extorting foreigners.

 

I always had insurance and IDP by recommendation from our own traffic department, so please show me the correct link with a valid inforation. I know several brits continue to say we do not need, and if it is a british agreement or not, you need to provide the proof 

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5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-c133830/Thailand:Driving.License.Requirements.html

 

Section 42-2

 

MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT (Thai Law)

Section 42

  • Anyone who wishes to drive a motor vehicle on public roads must possess an appropriate driver licence.
  • The driver must carry the driver licence and a photocopy of the registration book and show them to competent officers upon request.
  • This does not apply to those who are learning to drive a motor vehicle according to the provision of Section 57.
  • If the driver is an alien who doesn't have an immigrant visa, he may drive a motor vehicle with a driver licence specified in the Section 42-2.
  • In such a case, he must carry documents specified by the treaty between the Thai government and the government which issued such driver licence, and show them to competent officers upon request.

Section 42-2
 

  • In case there is a treaty between the Thai government and a foreign government regarding mutual acceptance of driver licence, an alien who does not have an immigrant visa may drive a motor vehicle with a driver licence issued by such a foreign government, or an automobile association authorised by such a foreign government.

Once you obtain a non-immigrant visa or establish you are a resident (such as enrolling kids in school, buy a car etc,) and are no longer a toursit, you need a Thai drivers licence as your national license and international driving permit is only legally accepted if you are a tourist. Several insurance companies have  fine print stating that the driver should hold a valid Thai driving licence to be fully covered after a certain amount of time in Thailand.

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/84710-driving-in-thailand?page=5d6636ce15e39c3bd000734d&menu=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072e2

Screenshot_2023-02-17-15-07-19-82_40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg

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1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

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 ?

Government hospitals are supported at least partially by the taxpayer, so the fees charged are less than what would be charged if they were required to break even or make a profit. 

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12 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Maybe.

But maybe riding a bike was not covered in that insurance and maybe there are other limits.

Travel (health) insurances are cheap compared to real international health insurances - for a reason.

 

Obviously it's sad for her to be in such a situation, especially because she didn't cause the accident. But let's compare this with a Thai person who is hit like that by another Thai person on the road. Who pays? Often Thai people struggle to pay something, but expensive treatment is out of the question for many.

Yep OMF. AS far as I am aware internationally underwriters won't pay out of you don't stipulate you are going to ride bikes or drive a car when you apply for a policy. 

There may be some out there but in all my years of traveling and living in England, continental Europe, US, Japan, Indo, and Australia I never saw an underwriter that didn't ask specific crunch questions about riding or driving as a clear criteria and condition of covering a person. 

 

I hope she gets enough and speedy assistance with the GFMe page.

Edited by Tropposurfer
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A simple matter of regulation. All motorcycle and car rentals need to be regulated:

1. All drivers must have a required driver's license.

  • if the driver fails to prove this at a police check, the vehicle will be seized & the car/motorcycle rental company will have to pay the seizure (towing costs & parking fee) plus 50,000 THB fine.
     
  • if the driver causes an accident without a driver's license, the car/motorcycle rental company must be liable for all personal injury and property damage.

2. Each vehicle in a car/motorcycle rental requires 1st class insurance.

  • If the driver cannot prove this insurance at a police check, the vehicle will be seized & the car/motorcycle rental company will have to pay the allowance (towing costs & parking fee) plus 100,000 THB fine.
     
  • if the driver causes an accident without 1st class insurance, the car/motorcycle rental company is liable for all personal injury and property damage.

And the problems are gone.

Edited by snowgard
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2 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Government hospitals are supported at least partially by the taxpayer, so the fees charged are less than what would be charged if they were required to break even or make a profit. 

Government hospitals have a four tier charging system, each hospital sets it's own baseline charges. Tier 1 is Thai nationals, Tier 2 is ASEAN citizens, Tier 3 is Tourists and Tier 4 is Foreign Expats and retirees.

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