Posts with excessive use of ALL CAPS have been removed as there is no need to shout to make your point. 

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Hmm?  Can you read?  That photo was taken a few weeks after the accident, according to the accompanying caption.

His hair grows quick !!

49 minutes ago, jo1993 said:

A lot more helmets in bkk

You can say that again!

3 hours ago, John Drake said:

As this story and so many similar ones we see constantly on AN indicate, this is overwhelmingly a problem for young tourists. But when the calls for mandatory insurance pop up, it's always for retirement visas. From all these anecdotal events, it seems to me that retirees are a lot less likely to run up and then run out on giant hospital bills in Thailand than are the unprepared young tourists. 

He had insurance they're just not paying up because he didn't wear a helmet apparently.  Insurance rarely pays when you are breaking the law eg fleeing the scene of a crime on your scooter and crash,  insurance won't be paying up. You'd have to change it to a no fault system and that would need to be funded by a tax on entry for all tourist visas or VOAs presumably, if you want that to change but even then, people taking the p!ss on overstays would likely not be covered... so...

40 minutes ago, terryofcrete said:

Are you all finished arguing yet ? 

You know that this is a forum, yes?

3 hours ago, kwilco said:

So this is why the death rate in Thailand is so high. WHERE IS THE CRASH REPORT?

he truth is that the Thai police are simply not sufficiently trainined in crash and road safety protocol.

It is unlikely, in fact almost certain that the accident was not properly calibrated and analysed by the police so things like crash helmet, speed etc. will never be known within normal acceptable standards of proof.

 

failure to analyse and calibrate accidents means that Thailand has no knowledge of what is going on and cannot introduce effective road safety measures

I agree with you but............... since it is law here to wear a helmet is it correct of the ins company to assume he wasn't, seems to me to be the opposite, unless the ins company have actual evidence to say he was not wearing a helmet then IMO they are on shaky ground, perhaps legal intervention is an option here.

 

also -

I don't trust hospitals here, they are money making scams and this poor guy is a cash cow, keep him in intensive care likely in an induced coma - and the money rolls in - he can't stay there for ever

29 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Coupla scrapes and bruises on the face but the rest of the head is fine.

A fractured skull, needing operating on twice is "fine"?  Right.

2 minutes ago, smedly said:

I agree with you but............... since it is law here to wear a helmet is it correct of the ins company to assume he wasn't, seems to me to be the opposite, unless the ins company have actual evidence to say he was not wearing a helmet then IMO they are on shaky ground, perhaps legal intervention is an option here.

 

also -

I don't trust hospitals here, they are money making scams and this poor guy is a cash cow, keep him in intensive care likely in an induced coma - and the money rolls in - he can't stay there for ever

"unless the ins company have actual evidence to say he was not wearing a helmet then IMO they are on shaky ground, perhaps legal intervention is an option here. "

Agreed. The insurance company are saying they don't 'believe' he was wearing a helmet, which means they don't actually know for sure? Taking this on face value the family should use the Ombudsman service, its free in the UK and binding?

Agree about the hospitals too!

35 minutes ago, John Drake said:

I begin to wonder about this. Twenty somethings and thirty somethings seem to generate most of these stories. I really do wonder if they are mature enough to travel unaccompanied to places such as Thailand. Especially coming from the West, are their survival and danger instincts still intact? They're of legal age, so you can't stop them. But parents, I think, should still give them a long talking to and perhaps dissuade the more foolhardy. 

I first pitched up in Thailand in my early 30s to backpack (now in my early 50s) but had travelled around Europe on my own in my early 20s and knew I had to be careful.

 

I think a lot of it comes down to personal attitude and upbringing. I tend to think Western society has become too much like a nanny state and that's reflected in parenting approach. People are more wrapped in alternate reality driven by social media imo.     

I'm not clear if he had a licence to ride a motorcycle. Insurance wouldn't pay out, helmet or not, if he didn't. Certainly, the travel insurance policies I've had made it clear that no license = no insurance if hiring a bike.

 

Not sure if the bike rental supplied their own insurance as part of the deal but it would unlikely to be extensive.

Edited April 4, 20233 yr by MarkyM3

1 hour ago, twizzian said:

Never trust the British!  Utter rubbish!
When you crash a motorcycle, you will have other injuries. Road rashes, cuts and bruises or broken bones etc, some severe, some not so. 
The photo only shows his face

Looks a little rougher here: 

 

An inflammatory post and the replies have been removed.

 

An off topic post and the replies have been removed.

15 minutes ago, mikeymike100 said:

"unless the ins company have actual evidence to say he was not wearing a helmet then IMO they are on shaky ground, perhaps legal intervention is an option here. "

Agreed. The insurance company are saying they don't 'believe' he was wearing a helmet, which means they don't actually know for sure? Taking this on face value the family should use the Ombudsman service, its free in the UK and binding?

Agree about the hospitals too!

So unless the insurance company had an agent that actually witnessed the accident and saw him helmetless, they should have to pay? 

 

The insurance company likely has the accident and medical reports. The emergency staff would have made note of whether or not he was wearing a helmet.

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

So unless the insurance company had an agent that actually witnessed the accident and saw him helmetless, they should have to pay? 

 

The insurance company likely has the accident and medical reports. The emergency staff would have made note of whether or not he was wearing a helmet.

.....and a zillion phone photos.....

1 minute ago, transam said:

.....and a zillion phone photos.....

Indeed 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

went out on his moped for some food in the middle of the night in Bangkok

By reading other reports it's apparent that this newspaper report is probably wrong on several important parts of the story. 

 

It looks like the accident happened on one of the islands, and that he ended up in the hospital chain called "Bangkok Hospitals".

 

It's also clear from other newspaper reports that the insurance company has not only refused to pay the repatriation costs but also all the surgery costs. This is significant as the grounds for refusing repatriation costs are much more extensive than the grounds for refusing the surgery costs. 

 

Most travel insurance will not cover scooter accidents. These reasons will vary from him not having a motorcycle licence, to riding a motorcycle being classed as a dangerous activity and not covered by standard travel insurance, to not wearing a helmet. Reading other reports I'm not convinced the reason for refusal is the failure to wear a helmet.

 

As usual, it is important to take the information in these reports with a giant grain of salt.

He was or wasn't wearing a helmet.....or is the Insurance company assuming he wasn't just to get out of paying up....????

5 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Who's <deleted> are these massive repatriation costs pulled from ?

Look up the costs for a medical flight lease jet with trained triage staff for 8 hrs or so and you'll get an idea why. 

in bali the govt may ban tourists from renting motorbikes to crack down on bad behavior.

 

 

Edited April 4, 20233 yr by save the frogs

Thailand recently added yet another tourist tax which is supposed to cover incidents like this.

 

He'll be ok

We don't know exactly what happened. But, we do know a few things. Driving a bike at excessive speed here, or without a very good helmet, is an invitation for trouble. Ask yourself one thing. Is my life already complicated enough, without a serious bike accident? Darwin insisted that some species and some members of those species were more fit for survival than others. It would appear the roads here, and especially motorbike riders, are a perfect example of his theories in action. 

 

It takes certain qualities to survive on the roads here. Patience, being very conscious of your surroundings, driving defensively, avoiding excessive speed, especially in town, following basic traffic rules and laws, always wearing a good helmet, and avoiding being overly stupid, at all times. 

 

Many Thais, and many foreigners who live here and visit are extremely casual about driving, and seem to have little understanding of the dangers involved, and the need to be 100% focused, at all times. Especially on a motorbike. 

Edited April 4, 20233 yr by spidermike007

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

A fractured skull, needing operating on twice is "fine"?  Right.

For a head that has been operated on twice the hair appears to be doing ok.

20 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Thailand recently added yet another tourist tax which is supposed to cover incidents like this.

 

He'll be ok

I doubt a new entry fee being introduced 1st June is going to be much help to him.

35 minutes ago, Garry said:

Look up the costs for a medical flight lease jet with trained triage staff for 8 hrs or so and you'll get an idea why. 

Why does he need to lease a jet though ?.

 

Medivac repatriation can be done on a commercial aircraft a lot cheaper.

Very sad for such a young lad but any foreigner that gets on a motorbike in Thailand is a fool and takes his life in his own hands. No one else is responsible to pay for his own stupidity.

5 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Who's <deleted> are these massive repatriation costs pulled from ?

It's for a medical transport. He would need a full med staff and equip on a medical grade aircraft. 

3 minutes ago, Screaming said:

Very sad for such a young lad but any foreigner that gets on a motorbike in Thailand is a fool and takes his life in his own hands. No one else is responsible to pay for his own stupidity.

Been riding for years and my insurance covers me provided Iam sober and wearing the correct safety gear.

Just now, Ralf001 said:

Been riding for years and my insurance covers me provided Iam sober and wearing the correct safety gear.

You hope it does but won't know unless you actually had a similar accident 

1 minute ago, Dan O said:

You hope it does but won't know unless you actually had a similar accident 

Guess you know better than my insurance company then !!

Edited April 4, 20233 yr by Ralf001

Just goes to show how utterly useless the Thai medical system is.  People literally need to flown home.