Irishman critically ill after balcony fall in Thailand to be flown home

[webfact]

Irishman critically ill after fall in Thailand to be flown home tomorrow

BANGKOK: -- An Irishman who has spent the past four weeks in a coma after an accident in Thailand will be flown home tomorrow.

Robbie Robinson (32), from Wicklow, fell from a fourth storey balcony while visiting friends in Thailand.

His family and friends have been involved in an effort to fly him back home to Ireland.

Speaking with RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan this morning, Robbie’s mother Martina said her son was due to be flown home to Dublin tomorrow.

“We leave at 12.30pm tomorrow and we’re expecting to be back home in Dublin by 8pm tomorrow night,” Martina said.

“I just want to say thanks to everybody who have done so much.”

The mother – who has been at her son’s bedside for the last four weeks – added that “we might get our miracle”.

Doctors treating Robbie in Bangkok have told his family to “expect the worst”.

However, his family believe that he might have a better chance of recovery if he was flown home, and his family and friends could be around him.

Full story: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/irishman-critically-ill-after-fall-in-thailand-to-be-flown-home-tomorrow-29427482.html

-- INDEPENDENT 2013-07-17

[nachiket]

Robbie Robinson (32), from Wicklow, fell from a fourth storey balcony while visiting friends in Thailand.

Sounds great that, he is alright.

Balcony again?

Edited July 17, 2013 by nachiket

[laurentbkk]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

[Steele404]

An estimated 86,500 (95% confidence interval [CI], 68,400-104,600) balcony fall-related injuries were treated in US hospital EDs from 1990 through 2006; - US National Library of Medicine

Balcony-related accidents are bound to happen, because balconies exists. Its no different from electrocution, slipping in bathtubs, tumbling down a staircase, or choking from eating. Balcony + human = Murphy's law...

[Salapoo]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Most countries have balconies over 12 inches of height, with a barrier that has been manufactured and fitted by people who know what they're doing.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Salapoo

[Salapoo]

Hang on,

From the article:

"was returning to his apartment following a night out. He realised that he left his key inside and attempted to climb up a fire escape to his bedroom.

However the Wicklow man lost his footing and fell to the ground, sustaining life-threatening head injuries."

Drunk (presumably) after a night out, then trying to scale up 4 stories..... Hmmmm.

[somtampet]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Big Difference

If this happened in Pattaya,the story would be that a thai bargirl has thrown him off,or she has got her motorbike bf to do it,then the police say suicide.If in Bangkok its a tragic accident.

[emanphoto]

Glad he can go home to recover but "critically ill" denotes some kind of disease, malady, etc, not the nasty injuries from his fall that I assume he received.

[gemini81]

We see international codes for heights/fixtures obviously more strict than Thai standards, especially high end stuff, or chains like Hilton, Marriott, Waldorf. Have been to many sansiri and even land & house sites where they also followed the local codes, and was flabbergasted how dangerously low they are, given a slip, fall, or tall person; in addition the risk of using a mini ladder. It comes down to the budget for the project and the priorities; if the law says they can get by with a lower height balcony, they will, to save costs or channel the money into something else likes specs and brands in the units....

[LuckyLew]

Balconies + vacations + alcohol = accidents

Can happen anywhere to anyone who combines the three

Hope this person recovers

[soi41]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Most countries have balconies over 12 inches of height, with a barrier that has been manufactured and fitted by people who know what they're doing.

A very strong contender for "Thaibasher of the year" award!!

So drunk farangs fall of balconies, because of poor workmanship of Thai builders? Give me a break!

I did a stint as a tourguide in Spain in the 80'ties, and drunk tourists were falling off the balconies as frequent as they are here! Poor workmanship by the Spanish??

Not indicating that the poor fellow in the OP was drunk!

[simple1]

From the OP before even more comments on balconies, as the headline is incorrect

He realised that he left his key inside and attempted to climb up a fire escape to his bedroom. However the Wicklow man lost his footing and fell to the ground, sustaining life-threatening head injuries.

Edited July 17, 2013 by simple1

[monkey4u]

Get well soon Irish

[jbrain]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Most countries have balconies over 12 inches of height, with a barrier that has been manufactured and fitted by people who know what they're doing.

A very strong contender for "Thaibasher of the year" award!!

So drunk farangs fall of balconies, because of poor workmanship of Thai builders? Give me a break!

I did a stint as a tourguide in Spain in the 80'ties, and drunk tourists were falling off the balconies as frequent as they are here! Poor workmanship by the Spanish??

Not indicating that the poor fellow in the OP was drunk!

Did the balcony fallings in Spain ceased when you moved to Thailand

[PaddyBKK]

Irish newspapers also mention that there is a bill of €100,000 for the hospital.

A fund has been set up to help with that

I hope he recovers soon

[tominbkk]

This guy could have used a balcony!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=376288895803968

Edited July 17, 2013 by tominbkk

[bkksiam]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Balcony deaths are more common than you might suspect "low balcony rails at Mexican hotels were responsible for the deaths of 95 Americans since 1995."

see: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/balcony-safety-stressed-canadian-dies-cancun-booze-safety-184721181.html

[GrantSmith]

We see international codes for heights/fixtures obviously more strict than Thai standards, especially high end stuff, or chains like Hilton, Marriott, Waldorf. Have been to many sansiri and even land & house sites where they also followed the local codes, and was flabbergasted how dangerously low they are, given a slip, fall, or tall person; in addition the risk of using a mini ladder. It comes down to the budget for the project and the priorities; if the law says they can get by with a lower height balcony, they will, to save costs or channel the money into something else likes specs and brands in the units....

The balconies of my townhouse and of my cousin-in-law's townhouse (lives opposite) by one of the aforementioned companies are built rather high, I'd say higher than a number of my apartments back in farangland.

Foundations on the other hand... Well thankfully nobody is dying because they fell off the foundations...

[ALFREDO]

Robbie Robinson (32), from Wicklow, fell from a fourth storey balcony while visiting friends in Thailand.

Sounds great that, he is alright.

Balcony again?

From Original report:

"was returning to his apartment following a night out.

He realised that he left his key inside and attempted to climb up a fire escape to his bedroom.

However the Wicklow man lost his footing and fell to the ground, sustaining life-threatening head injuries."

[ALFREDO]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

From Original report:

"was returning to his apartment following a night out.

He realised that he left his key inside and attempted to climb up a fire escape to his bedroom.

However the Wicklow man lost his footing and fell to the ground, sustaining life-threatening head injuries."

[zydeco]

Maybe it is my imagination, but it does seem that certain nationalities are often associated with specific types of stories.

British "suicides" off balconies.

Russians having trouble with ladyboys and 7-11s.

Germans committing bizarre "suicides" in hotel rooms.

Australians having problems with grab and snatch theives.

Swedes being killed in road accidents.

Of course, I usually see these things in the PDN. Maybe they are formatting things this way on purpose?

[Baerboxer]

Glad he can go home to recover but "critically ill" denotes some kind of disease, malady, etc, not the nasty injuries from his fall that I assume he received.

I would imagine he received some very nasty injuries from such a fall. Do you think he's likely to be healthy or ill as a result? The adjective critically in front of the noun ill may give a clue to the level too.

[Baerboxer]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Most countries have balconies over 12 inches of height, with a barrier that has been manufactured and fitted by people who know what they're doing.

A very strong contender for "Thaibasher of the year" award!!

So drunk farangs fall of balconies, because of poor workmanship of Thai builders? Give me a break!

I did a stint as a tourguide in Spain in the 80'ties, and drunk tourists were falling off the balconies as frequent as they are here! Poor workmanship by the Spanish??

Not indicating that the poor fellow in the OP was drunk!

Did the balcony fallings in Spain ceased when you moved to Thailand

Poses 2 questions: Who would believe a tourguide working in Spain? (Most I saw were always too pissed to do their job let alone owt else). Ever seen examples of Spanish builders? Not exactly renowned throughout Europe for their building skills.

Not suggestinf Soi41 was a tourguide like this.

Back to reality - hope this gent gets back to Ireland and makes a good recovery. He'll certainly stand a better chance back home.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Baerboxer

[MichaelSong]

Dont see what the balcony has to do with this.

Lucky for him he fell from the 4th storey "after a night out" , the body is more flexible , but on the other hand, ..after a normal day out maybe he would not have used the fire escape...

I think most of us living in Thailand have done stupid things like this ... and he is only 32

Hope he recovers soon

[ratcatcher]

Dont see what the balcony has to do with this.

Lucky for him he fell from the 4th storey "after a night out" , the body is more flexible , but on the other hand, ..after a normal day out maybe he would not have used the fire escape...

I think most of us living in Thailand have done stupid things like this ... and he is only 32

Hope he recovers soon

"The balcony" had nothing to do with this accident. He apparently hadn't even reached his apartment balcony when he slipped and plunged 4 storeys from the fire escape, to seriously injure himself.

A shame he couldn't try and get the attention of the apartment manager rather than risk the climb.

However, the story says he had been working in NZ as a scaffolder and presumably was fairly agile.

Hope you get well soon Robbie me boy.

[rametindallas]

Falling in Thailand

http://2bangkok.com/falling-in-thailand.html

[lifeincnx]

Reminds me of the man, who while working at the Guinness brewery, fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned. His wife wanted to know if he died quickly. Sadly, no as he got out three times to take a leak.

[daiwill60]

what's wrong with people falling from balconies nowadays ... when its not in pattaya its in phuket then bangkok .... are there often similar falls like this in other countries ? I dont reckon in my country it happens frequently.

Big Difference

If this happened in Pattaya,the story would be that a thai bargirl has thrown him off,or she has got her motorbike bf to do it,then the police say suicide.If in Bangkok its a tragic accident.

No . the difference with this story if you bother to read it, is that he was with friends who could obviously verify that no bar girls were or their boyfriends were pushing any one off this balcony. Regardless of where it occurred. Doh !!!

[daiwill60]

Dont see what the balcony has to do with this.

Lucky for him he fell from the 4th storey "after a night out" , the body is more flexible , but on the other hand, ..after a normal day out maybe he would not have used the fire escape...

I think most of us living in Thailand have done stupid things like this ... and he is only 32

Hope he recovers soon

Obviously the balcony has nothing to do with this story. However, what should be brought into question is the safety of the fire escape, which, if it allows people to fall during a possile panic rush during a fire , during which some people may be intoxicated during any attempted escape, isnt much of an escape , is it ????

[ginjag]

Reminds me of the man, who while working at the Guinness brewery, fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned. His wife wanted to know if he died quickly. Sadly, no as he got out three times to take a leak.

Answering a question about a man who died with a severe drink problem." was it the drink that killed him" NO was the reply he got run over with a Guinness truck.

Do hope the Irish man recovers.