Campaign to help get seriously ill Barnsley man home from Thailand



BARNSLEY: -- A campaign has been launched to help get a Barnsley man back home after he fell seriously ill on holiday and is facing medical costs of tens of thousands of pounds.

Craig Lindley, aged 35, of Hoyle Mill, had travelled to Thailand to celebrate a friend’s wedding when he collapsed on New Year’s Day.

Tests have revealed he has developed Guillain-Barré Syndrome - a rare condition of the peripheral nervous system, which has left him virtually paralysed.

Friends and family are rallying round to raise enough money to pay for his medical treatment and to fly him home because of concerns that Craig may not have travel insurance.

They have been unable to find any paperwork among his belongings and it is feared that an internet transaction for a policy he found on a search comparison site may not have gone through.

Craig, who dismantles planes in Germany and is known for his work as an amateur boxing and in boys’ clubs, has already accrued a medical bill of around £40,000.

His father Frank Lindley, aged 66, also of Hoyle Mill, said he is ‘distraught’ at his son’s illness.

Full story: http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/campaign-to-help-get-seriously-ill-barnsley-man-home-from-thailand-1-7034803

-- The Star 2015-01-07

No travel insurance?

Expensive lesson learnt for this bloke.

40k gbp in 5 days?

Where is he being attended to?

They have been unable to find any paperwork among his belongings and it is feared that an internet transaction for a policy he found on a search comparison site may not have gone through.

The comment above in the quote box is a worrying factor.

Does it perhaps indicate payment was made over the internet yet the entity that received the payment (if made) did not honour nor did it intend to honour the agreement?

Lot to be said for the old fashioned method of face to face, cash payment, then, presuming that he was covered or did he not document issued system, although not foolproof the odds on being cheated are very low.

Or did the the patient actually travel without health insurance having decided it was only a holiday and no serious problems were expected or likely to arise?

Whatever the causes or reasons for the plight of ''no funds'' I do hope that a way can be found to assist this man and his family in their personal crisis

Insurace is a must hard way to learn when you need it.

No insurance, ok error.....it's times like these I would like to see the British government step in and help one of our own for once!

17,000 GBP to fly him within Thailand?!?! I don't believe these numbers.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is often preceded by an infection before onset of the condition. Approximately 30% of cases are provoked by Campylobacter jejuni, which causes diarrhoea. So Bangkok Belly could have been the trigger.
Sometimes it's also triggered by vaccines. Maybe one of the holiday immunisations triggered it.

They have been unable to find any paperwork among his belongings and it is feared that an internet transaction for a policy he found on a search comparison site may not have gone through.

The comment above in the quote box is a worrying factor.

Does it perhaps indicate payment was made over the internet yet the entity that received the payment (if made) did not honour nor did it intend to honour the agreement?

Lot to be said for the old fashioned method of face to face, cash payment, then, presuming that he was covered or did he not document issued system, although not foolproof the odds on being cheated are very low.

Or did the the patient actually travel without health insurance having decided it was only a holiday and no serious problems were expected or likely to arise?

Whatever the causes or reasons for the plight of ''no funds'' I do hope that a way can be found to assist this man and his family in their personal crisis

Sounds more like he searched and didn't buy. You'd know if the transaction was complete because you'd get an email and the charge would appear on your credit card. Much easier to buy insurance online than face to face.

Buy return tickets on gold credit card, covered.

No travel insurance?

Expensive lesson learnt for this bloke.

The OP does suggest he may have thought he had insurance.

And as someone has already commented it may not have 'gone through'....

I think his current condition goes beyond 'a lesson learned'..........more a tragedy.

No travel insurance?

Expensive lesson learnt for this bloke.

Most people, even with travel insurance would have no coverage under the martial law, as that is specified in the exclusions ....

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE INSURANCE (GENERAL EXCLUSIONS)

Treatment for sickness or injury directly or indirectly caused if you actively engage in, participate in or choose to go to a region where there is: a war, invasion, acts of a foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war has been declared or not), civil war, terrorist acts, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, civil commotion, military or usurped power, martial law, riots or the acts of any lawfully constituted authority, or army, naval or air service operations (whether war has been declared or not),

How on earth can this hospital justify a bill of almost a million Baht in less that a week. He is parlayed so it is not like they have performed cutting edge open hear surgery. Flying Dick Turpin not Flying doctor.

No sympathy for no travel insurance, if u cant afford the cost then u cant afford the trip, I always take travel insurance, and take copies, one in my room, one in my bike..any body who doesent take out travel insurance needs their head read.....

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40k gbp in 5 days?

Where is he being attended to?

My thoughts too. Must be in some high-end int'l hospital. I've had a TGF in a hospital for 3 days some years ago and the tab came to about 10,000 baht. Then again, she was not even close to being as sick as this poor guy.

There's a fuller description of the treatment he's received to date and the costs at:

https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/cvDA5/ab/94Mk63 (Click on the "Update" tab.)

Break down the insurance fine print to the important parts:

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE INSURANCE (GENERAL EXCLUSIONS)

Treatment for sickness or injury directly or indirectly caused if you choose to go to a region where there is martial law

Unless the illness was caused by martial law, he should be covered if he has insurance.

No insurance, ok error.....it's times like these I would like to see the British government step in and help one of our own for once!

I have said for a long time that people should not be allowed to fly to foreign countries, without proof of valid Insurance, unless its within the EEC.

Your correct about the British Government, but if they do that, then the door is wide open.

Plain robbery at most of the commercial hospitals here, the farang rates are now way higher than in the UK!

40K £ in 5 days is plain scamming, just for perspective, this is 400,000 Baht per day!!!

40k gbp in 5 days?

Where is he being attended to?

He is obviously in a private hospital where the intensive care room costs approx 2000GBP/night, then there are the very expensive drugs he will require, the ventilator and other equipment costs and doctors fees. So this cost does not surprise me.

40k gbp in 5 days?

Where is he being attended to?

He is obviously in a private hospital where the intensive care room costs approx 2000GBP/night, then there are the very expensive drugs he will require, the ventilator and other equipment costs and doctors fees. So this cost does not surprise me.

Regardless of scamming or lack of insurance, I wish the fella a swift recovery (Barnsley may not cheer him up much though).

No travel insurance?

Expensive lesson learnt for this bloke.

Most people, even with travel insurance would have no coverage under the martial law, as that is specified in the exclusions ....

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE INSURANCE (GENERAL EXCLUSIONS)

Treatment for sickness or injury directly or indirectly caused if you actively engage in, participate in or choose to go to a region where there is: a war, invasion, acts of a foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war has been declared or not), civil war, terrorist acts, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, civil commotion, military or usurped power, martial law, riots or the acts of any lawfully constituted authority, or army, naval or air service operations (whether war has been declared or not),

Well that covers just about every country at the moment, so everyone just stay at home...

Plain robbery at most of the commercial hospitals here, the farang rates are now way higher than in the UK!

40K £ in 5 days is plain scamming, just for perspective, this is 400,000 Baht per day!!!

The figure is not correct, It can't be. No operation, only diagnosis and care. For 5 days... Impossible !!!

This is the same illness suffered by Australian football coach Alistair Clarkson, of the Hawthorn club, a year or two back.

It has taken some time, but he has largely recovered and resumed coaching.

No travel insurance?

Expensive lesson learnt for this bloke.

Not a lesson for him, but a penalty for his family that will lose big time financially and probably never be reinbursed.

The lesson for any traveller is that one should always have travel insurance or carry a sharp knife.

No insurance, ok error.....it's times like these I would like to see the British government step in and help one of our own for once!

While I take no pleasure from seeing anybody in such an awful situation, if the government steps in here what incentive do any of us have to be responsible and make sure we have insurance? That's before the very valid argument about taxpayers who can't afford a holiday themselves paying for the medical care and repatriation return of someone who can.

The article only says he may not be insured, hopefully that will rectify itself. I wish him a full and speedy recovery either way.

40k gbp in 5 days?

Where is he being attended to?

He is obviously in a private hospital where the intensive care room costs approx 2000GBP/night, then there are the very expensive drugs he will require, the ventilator and other equipment costs and doctors fees. So this cost does not surprise me.

ICU rooms don't cost that much here.

No travel insurance?

Expensive lesson learnt for this bloke.

Most people, even with travel insurance would have no coverage under the martial law, as that is specified in the exclusions ....

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE INSURANCE (GENERAL EXCLUSIONS)

Treatment for sickness or injury directly or indirectly caused if you actively engage in, participate in or choose to go to a region where there is: a war, invasion, acts of a foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war has been declared or not), civil war, terrorist acts, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, civil commotion, military or usurped power, martial law, riots or the acts of any lawfully constituted authority, or army, naval or air service operations (whether war has been declared or not),

I thought martial law had been lifted long ago, and clearly it is not in effect throughout Thailand now.

Insurance should still be valid. I certainly just had my insurance claim accepted, for an accident 4 months ago.

40k gbp in 5 days?

Where is he being attended to?

He is obviously in a private hospital where the intensive care room costs approx 2000GBP/night, then there are the very expensive drugs he will require, the ventilator and other equipment costs and doctors fees. So this cost does not surprise me.

ICU rooms don't cost that much here.

I don't understand how someone with no insurance is even being treated in a place that charges that much. They must have known he couldn't pay when he was admitted, so should have sent him off to a government hospital where costs are much lower.