Banana boat death - Ubon mother calls for justice from jetski operators

Image: Thairath

BANGKOK: -- A grieving mother is calling for justice after a Banana Boat accident in Ubon killed her young daughter.

Papatsara Feunpoom, 22, was on life support following the collision between two boats pulled by jetskis on Saturday, Thairath reports. She died Monday from head injuries.

Nanthana Feunpoom, 42, is delaying the funeral as police and operators wrangle over the tragic accident that occurred on the Moon River at a popular tourist spot called Sri Pirom "beach."

Jetskis had been pulling banana boats in the area since the end of March, one of several locations in the north eastern province. It appears that towing lines of two boats got entangled causing eight people to crash into each other injuring all the passengers, four on each boat.

There were many unacceptable delays before Papatsara was treated, say relatives. The Bangkok based accounting student slipped into a coma and was pronounced dead from her injuries on Monday.

The drivers of the jetskis, Miss Siriporn Wandee, 26, and Prasert Sicharu, 30, were initially fined 2000 baht each and had their licences removed. Police said that the two owners of the banana boat operations were working legally and had the appropriate licences.

But charges of negligence causing death have been brought against only one of the operators, the boat that the dead girl was riding on. The other operator is yet to be charged.

All banana boat operations in the area have been halted until further notice while investigations continue.

Mother Nanthana from the Kham Wa sub-district of Ubon said that only one of the operators had bothered to come and lay a wreath as the grieving family prepared to cremate her daughter. She said her daughter was a child who never gave her a moment's worry and was a star student at the South East College in Bangkok where she was studying accountancy.

She said that she would be prepared to take her daughter's coffin to the front of the central police station in Ubon to get justice. The funeral cannot take place until the questions of compensation are settled, she said.

An uncle, Chatri Feunpoom, 29, said that the relatives are furious. There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Source: Thairath


-- 2016-04-21

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.
He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

The funeral cannot take place until the questions of compensation are settled, she said.

As a father, I feel for the family. But this is one of the big problems in this country. When a tragic accident happens, the focus is too often on compensation rather than seeking justice and making sure that it doesn't happen again.

Edited April 21, 201610 yr by bangkokfrog

i can see where the compensation angle comes from as most families do not have a lot of spare cash just floating around , and a death in the family hits the family budget hard, so why not make the guilty party pay for out of pocket expenses.

Very sad story. However the jetskis have been scamming, injuring and killing people for decades, they are an offensive blight on tourism & Thailand. There obviously is no desire to stop it.

.....they said jet skis were now regulated.....

...what a pathetic bunch of malarkey...

I agree with Bangkokfrog. When I lived in Chiang Mai our neighbours housekeeper was killed in a road accident and her sister came the next day. She didn't ask to see her sisters body and there were no tears, she just wanted to know how much the driver of the pick-up was going to pay her. Once the sum was confirmed came the tears and the grief. However she told my neighbour (the womans employer) that he should pay for the funeral as she couldn't afford it.

Of course not everyone is the same but according to my wife that is the normal approach

What did you say General/PM, RETURN happiness to the people? There has been more daily deaths, injuries, misery and heartache ON your watch than ever before. if you say your going to do something, do it. otherwise clean out your desk and disappear taking your cohorts with you. Let somebody else have a go.

Can you prove that claim you make in your second sentence because it sounds like nonsense to me.

Edited April 21, 201610 yr by Bluespunk

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

But sadly normal. For Thailand. It'' go under the rug with the rest of them. A few quid will change hands and it will all be forgotten. Attention span of a goldfish.

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

Money is again the great god. The emergency case can wait, until you cough up the money. Shameful and scandalous. Name the hospital!

'There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies.' Of course there wasn't; TiT. There is only one way that things change for the better in any country, and that is people enough, making fuss enough, for long enough, until the authorities eventually get the message and do their job.

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

Thainess.

One of my mother favourite sayings, "do you think i came up the Clyde in a banana boat"

Failure on three levels here

Firstly the operators for having no risk assessment or emergency plan.

Second the users for never even considering that might be the case.

Third the regulatory bodies for not taking any action until a fatality occurred

RIP young lady. No safety, and no justice for accidents like this in Thailand I am sorry to say.

Edited April 21, 201610 yr by Ulic

sounds like she had a subdural hematoma, something completely treatable with good prognosis. she needed an emergency ct scan first then a brave non neurosurgeon on the phone or video link with one {assuming a remote hospital} nowadays you can even watch it on youtube first

Edited April 21, 201610 yr by atyclb

^ Amazing deduction from the fact that she died after waiting for an x-ray.

Another belter from CSI:TV

Edited April 21, 201610 yr by Chicog

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

Thainess.

How racist and therefore ignorant.

Do you mix with any of these people?

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

But sadly normal. For Thailand. It'' go under the rug with the rest of them. A few quid will change hands and it will all be forgotten. Attention span of a goldfish.

u insult all goldfish

Even going on a bananaboat is dangerous in Thailand...

^ Amazing deduction from the fact that she died after waiting for an x-ray.

Another belter from CSI:TV

i do not deserve credit for an amazing deduction when it it actually quite straightforward. likely the xray family refer to was a head ct. delays in SDH can and do lead to coma and death.

diagnosis is said to 90% based on history and the history us in the story.

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

Thainess.

How racist and therefore ignorant.

Do you mix with any of these people?

the political correctness virus has you well infected. issues related to incompetence stem from the education system and attitude and are well known, well established and well documented and unrelated to race.

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

Money is again the great god. The emergency case can wait, until you cough up the money. Shameful and scandalous. Name the hospital!

Unfortunately if anyone names the hospital they lay themselves open to be sued by said hospital for defamation, truth is not a valid defence in Thailand.

There was no safety boat or plan in place at the river to take care of emergencies. His niece had not received first aid and it was an hour before she got to hospital, he said.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life.

Despicable.

Money is again the great god. The emergency case can wait, until you cough up the money. Shameful and scandalous. Name the hospital!

Unfortunately if anyone names the hospital they lay themselves open to be sued by said hospital for defamation, truth is not a valid defence in Thailand.

" even if you are a minority of one, the truth is still the truth? Mahatma Gandhi would roll over in his grave

^ Amazing deduction from the fact that she died after waiting for an x-ray.

Another belter from CSI:TV

i do not deserve credit for an amazing deduction when it it actually quite straightforward. likely the xray family refer to was a head ct. delays in SDH can and do lead to coma and death.

diagnosis is said to 90% based on history and the history us in the story.

It's actually straightforward for a CSI:TV brain surgeon, yeah right.

Did you google "diffuse axonal injury"?

Fancy actually waiting for an autopsy before you pronounce the cause of death?

Diffuse axonal injury occurs in about half of all severe head traumas, making it one of the most common traumatic brain injuries. It can also occur in moderate and mild brain injury. A diffuse axonal injury falls under the category of a diffuse brain injury. This means that instead of occurring in a specific area, like a focal brain injury, it occurs over a more widespread area.

In addition to being one of the most common types of brain injuries, it’s also one of the most devastating. As a matter of fact, severe diffuse axonal injury is one of the leading causes of death in people with traumatic brain injury.

sounds like she had a subdural hematoma, something completely treatable with good prognosis. she needed an emergency ct scan first then a brave non neurosurgeon on the phone or video link with one {assuming a remote hospital} nowadays you can even watch it on youtube first

Or she simply had a near drowning because she couldn't swim and then succumbed.

Much more likely.

He further claimed that the hospital made them wait and pay for an X-ray before giving treatment that may have saved her life

Money first...

I recall being raced to hospital in Pattaya, hospital had been informed and as the truck arrived there was a queue on the hospital steeps waiting for me, doctors, nurses, and at the front the hospital cashier...

Really it should be the boat operators who are liable, it should be mandatory for them to have insurance and if not they should face the consequence.

Edited April 23, 201610 yr by Basil B

How racist and therefore ignorant.

Do you mix with any of these people?

sadly we have to!

sounds like she had a subdural hematoma, something completely treatable with good prognosis. she needed an emergency ct scan first then a brave non neurosurgeon on the phone or video link with one {assuming a remote hospital} nowadays you can even watch it on youtube first

How many neurosurgeons do you think are in a 100km radius of the hospital where she was treated and were available at a hospital?? She was most likely transported to Ubon Ratchathani town which has perhaps a handful pf neurologists and neurosurgeons in the region. Upon arrival there would have had to be an assessment and consultations. Outside of Bangkok, trauma care is rudimentary. Foreigners just don't comprehend that if you have a serious incident like head trauma,drowning, or a heart attack with vfib, you will most likely die or be rendered a vegetable. You die because there is no paramedic system, no quick delivery of the patient to a hospital, no fully equipped and properly staffed trauma center that can treat the patient. Someone dressed up in white or wearing a nurse's hat does not make them a trained competent medical interventionist.

Edited April 23, 201610 yr by geriatrickid

^ Amazing deduction from the fact that she died after waiting for an x-ray.

Another belter from CSI:TV

i do not deserve credit for an amazing deduction when it it actually quite straightforward. likely the xray family refer to was a head ct. delays in SDH can and do lead to coma and death.

diagnosis is said to 90% based on history and the history us in the story.

It's actually straightforward for a CSI:TV brain surgeon, yeah right.

Did you google "diffuse axonal injury"?

Fancy actually waiting for an autopsy before you pronounce the cause of death?

Diffuse axonal injury occurs in about half of all severe head traumas, making it one of the most common traumatic brain injuries. It can also occur in moderate and mild brain injury. A diffuse axonal injury falls under the category of a diffuse brain injury. This means that instead of occurring in a specific area, like a focal brain injury, it occurs over a more widespread area.

In addition to being one of the most common types of brain injuries, it’s also one of the most devastating. As a matter of fact, severe diffuse axonal injury is one of the leading causes of death in people with traumatic brain injury.

i said "sounds like" not "is" because in fact i cannot say 100%

again going by the history available from the story as it was thought the delay in diagnosis was the reason for the poor outcome. if a bleed{hematoma} is not evacuated and continues to expand and compress the brain the outcome is very bad.

while correct that DAI is also a major player and thought the treatment for it is largely supportive care. there is some research in animals though about potential treatments http://www.beechwoodneurorehab.org/images/uploads/events/Dr._Douglas_Smith,_DAI_Rx.pdf

Another interesting article is

Time to Recover Consciousness in Patients with Diffuse Axonal Injury : Assessment with Reference to Magnetic Resonance Grading http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2764017/

I shared this with someone i know that is a seasoned emergency dept ER attending physician from the usa prior to posting.

Edited April 24, 201610 yr by atyclb