Pictures courtesy of BBC

A 23-year-old British man has been left in a coma and diagnosed brain dead, following a motorcycle crash on Koh Samui, prompting an urgent international medical transfer and a large-scale fundraising effort after his travel insurance refused to cover his treatment. The crash occurred on his 23rd birthday, leaving his family facing escalating medical costs and difficult decisions about his care.

Tiger Duggan, from Milton Keynes in the UK, was seriously injured while riding a motorcycle in Surat Thani province. He was attempting to overtake a car after returning from the gym and having lunch when another motorcycle suddenly crossed in front of him, causing him to be thrown from his bike and hit the road. Rescue workers performed CPR at the scene before he was transported to a local hospital in a coma, requiring constant respiratory support.

Local medical facilities on Koh Samui were unable to provide the level of critical care needed for his condition. As a result, his family decided to urgently airlift him to Bangkok for specialist treatment, spending more than £20,000, or nearly 860,000 baht, on a medical flight. He is now being treated at MedPark Hospital in Bangkok, where doctors diagnosed him as brain dead, but the family saying “you've got to have hope”.

Picture courtesy of family’s facebook

Tiger’s mother, Lisa Duggan, a neonatal nurse, said she was overwhelmed by the public response after colleagues helped organise a fundraising campaign. More than £77,000, or approximately 3.3 million baht, has been raised so far, but costs continue to rise. Initial hospital treatment is estimated at around 260,000 baht, with the air transfer costing about 860,000 baht, excluding ongoing care and potential repatriation to the UK by specialised aircraft.

Although Tiger had purchased travel insurance before his trip, the insurer refused to pay for the medical expenses. The company cited an exclusion clause relating to motorcycle use, leaving the family to cover all costs themselves. The family said the insurance approval process was also too slow given the critical nature of his condition, forcing them to act immediately.

The BBC reported that Tiger had moved to Australia two years ago to work at a gold mine and had been travelling with friends in Thailand since January 16. His father, brother, and other family members have since travelled to Bangkok to be with him. Despite the diagnosis, his father said the family continues to hope for the best while monitoring his condition closely.

Key Takeaways

• A 23-year-old British man was left in a coma after a motorcycle accident on Koh Samui.

• His family paid for an emergency airlift to Bangkok after local hospitals could not cope with his condition.

• Travel insurance refused to cover costs due to a motorcycle exclusion clause, prompting large-scale fundraising.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2026-02-09

 

 

49 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

A 23-year-old British man has been left in a coma and diagnosed brain dead,

Isn't that gameover ?

Nothing more can be done ?

A tragic story. Seems that insurance, or not, would make no difference to his condition. No mention of helmet use. Unlikely he was wearing a helmet. So sad for his parents.

I don't understand why insurance isn't part of the motorbike rental agreement out here 🙏

1 minute ago, Andytheburiramman said:

I don't understand why insurance isn't part of the motorbike rental agreement out here 🙏

Probably because they would only be able to rent to people legally entitled to ride, which would most likely reduce their business by 90%.

4 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Isn't that gameover ?

Nothing more can be done ?

That would depend upon the diagnoses. It could be wrong. Mistakes can be made, anywhere in the world, unfortunately.

braindead, stop wasting money and prepare a cremation ?

Was reading else where a other Brit was involved a motor bike incident

Here in Thailand same thing a Gofundme has been initiated

Maybe the rules on renting motor bikes needs tightening up

Ie insurance licence wearing of helmets ect

Any idea why his travel insurance would have denied coverage? Not a licensed motorcycle driver in his home country? Or, was motorcycle cycle use expressly prohibited?

The devil is in the details, I suppose…condolences to his family, difficult days ahead.

2 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Was reading else where a other Brit was involved a motor bike incident

Here in Thailand same thing a Gofundme has been initiated

Maybe the rules on renting motor bikes needs tightening up

Ie insurance licence wearing of helmets ect

Maybe ban Gofundme.

The rules wont change. 80% of farangs dont have a motorbike licence. I dont have one but rode dirt bikes as a kid. A lot of tourists have no idea how to ride.

Just now, TimBKK said:

Any idea why his travel insurance would have denied coverage? Not a licensed motorcycle driver in his home country?

Yep mostly likely. Most don't have one.

38 minutes ago, Andytheburiramman said:

I don't understand why insurance isn't part of the motorbike rental agreement out here 🙏

All motorbikes are supposed to have the Compulsory Insurance to get the road tax sticker. If you go to a private hospital the amount is a joke and will hardly cover a minor injury.

5 minutes ago, TimBKK said:

Any idea why his travel insurance would have denied coverage? Not a licensed motorcycle driver in his home country?

Quote "The company cited an exclusion clause relating to motorcycle use"

Having bought enough Insurance I always check coverages and exclusions to not be left with a nasty surprise when I need insurance the most. Also checking Insurance Company reviews on claim paymet.

13 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Was reading else where a other Brit was involved a motor bike incident

Here in Thailand same thing a Gofundme has been initiated

Maybe the rules on renting motor bikes needs tightening up

Ie insurance licence wearing of helmets ect

It was reported in Thaiger this morning that there was a high level meeting in Phuket yesterday to do exactly that.

Nothing will come of it of course but it sounded very good on paper.

1 minute ago, J Branche said:

Quote "The company cited an exclusion clause relating to motorcycle use"

Having bought enough Insurance I always check coverages and exclusions to not be left with a nasty surprise when I need insurance the most. Also checking Insurance Company reviews on claim paymet.

Yeah, I saw that which is why I asked about specifics and what the actual exclusion clause might be. Maybe impossible to know, and I haven’t purchased travel insurance in years, but if it is common for such policies to exclude motocycle coverage, that would be good to know. I was under the impression that motorcycle coverage is often included but with specific caveats e.g. must wear a helmet or must be licensed properly in your home country.

Regarding travel insurance, here's a snippet of the email response when the Thai private hospital asked them to pre-approve my emergency treatment about 3 months ago:

So even if you have it, you'd better have the cash up front.

On an aside, I'm still fighting them for reimbursement ($12K USD) based on their ambiguous terms and conditions, which actually contradict each other from one paragraph to another. Sadly, they have the lawyers... And the money.

I think it depends on the insurance company. Some still cover what may be considered high risk but it is an addition to the policy.

Some have the alcohol exclusion so you think your covered, just had a couple at the bar and need the insurance coverage and get denied after they review the toxicology results from the hospital.

Some comments in Daily Mail said he is a resident of Australia, so NHS may not cover him anyway.

Dang! Who would have thunk it?

Another Brit, without insurance, needing a gofundme.

Wow, is that a first - of this week!

5 minutes ago, NedR69 said:

Dang! Who would have thunk it?

Another Brit, without insurance, needing a gofundme.

Wow, is that a first - of this week!

There should be an option, when reporting a post, that the OP is a dbag, or a bell end, or whatever regional terminology is most fitting.

NEDr read the reports. He had insurance but they had a clause that meant they wouldn't pay. !

One of the regular clauses 10-15 years ago was only bikes under 125cc.Many hire firms now have Click etc which are 150-160cc. I wonder if they have upped the limit?

2 hours ago, Andytheburiramman said:

I don't understand why insurance isn't part of the motorbike rental agreement out here 🙏

The motorbike rental businesses cannot obtain the coverage. And even if they could get it, the resistance to paying for the coverage from both the rental business and the customers would result in few if any people taking the coverage.

1 hour ago, J Branche said:

All motorbikes are supposed to have the Compulsory Insurance to get the road tax sticker. If you go to a private hospital the amount is a joke and will hardly cover a minor injury.

These are rentals, and the rental businesses cannot get the coverage, because insurers won't accept the risk. Nor should they. One cannot insurer loss arising from an intentional illegal act. As stated earlier, if the renter is unlicensed, then the rental is not legal and is therefore an illegal activity.

The family continues to hope for the best, as long as others are willing to pay, for keeping him in a respirator.

1 hour ago, TimBKK said:

Any idea why his travel insurance would have denied coverage? Not a licensed motorcycle driver in his home country? Or, was motorcycle cycle use expressly prohibited?

The devil is in the details, I suppose…condolences to his family, difficult days ahead.

One of the details could very well be that he was wearing a helmet, which you are legally required to do.

Did he ride a motorcycle at home?

Why is it that people who don't ride decide all of a sudden that being in a tropical paradise impels them to do so?

Likely the car was turning left ( with or without signaling) so the other motorcycle felt safe to turn right onto the road?

1 hour ago, impulse said:

Regarding travel insurance, here's a snippet of the email response when the Thai private hospital asked them to pre-approve my emergency treatment about 3 months ago:

So even if you have it, you'd better have the cash up front.

On an aside, I'm still fighting them for reimbursement ($12K USD) based on their ambiguous terms and conditions, which actually contradict each other from one paragraph to another. Sadly, they have the lawyers... And the money.

North American I guess.

Had a scenario where a North American company took over the running of the Claims Department of a formerly European run section. I can understand why Americans get mad for when it comes to insurance.

In Europe, after due diligence, they provide a guarantee to the hospital for the agreed treatment. American run operation makes that impossible. Caveat Emptor.

2 hours ago, Andytheburiramman said:

I don't understand why insurance isn't part of the motorbike rental agreement out here 🙏

Is it even an option? It should be. They could make a commission on it, who cares? But young guys like this think they're invincible. It's the nature of youth. Terribly sad to see a life virtually snuffed out at this age.

Just now, IsmeUno said:

North American I guess.

Had a scenario where a North American company took over the running of the Claims Department of a formerly European run section. I can understand why Americans get mad for when it comes to insurance.

In Europe, after due diligence, they provide a guarantee to the hospital for the agreed treatment. American run operation makes that impossible. Caveat Emptor.

Infinite reasons why America sucks. I'm an American, and I'm ashamed of what my country has become.

2 hours ago, Andytheburiramman said:

I don't understand why insurance isn't part of the motorbike rental agreement out here 🙏

Insurance companies would go bust, rental companies would go bust, most tourists do not have a bike licence or any training. I see it every day, most cannot ride an auto scooter!!!

I'm 81 & recently sold my Honda Shadow 750 cc.

When in Thailand still hire scooter always ride defensively had my licences since I was 18 years old.

Please always buy n wear a good quality helmet.