HOLIDAYMAKER PARALYSED BY ACCIDENT HAS BEEN TOLD HIS INSURANCE CO. THEY WILL NOT PAY

A 30 YR old Welsh Soldier on Holiday with his Wife and 2 children was paralysed when he jumped from a Jetty and is in an Izmir Hospital in Turkey.

His Insurance Compnay refuse to pay the £44,000 needed to fly him to a Hospital in the U.K,.pay for his stay at the Hospital and special attendance of
Medical Staff on the journey because they say he was reckless to jump from the Jetty although he had jumped from there the day before.His MP is to
take up the case but obviously his Wife and children are still in Turkey and running up additional expenses.

Question......Isn"t Insurance supposed to cover you in the case of accidents, ? Did they assume the Guy deliberately endangered his life but made no attempt to go and investigate?

Bl***y Insurance Companies all over, quick enough to take your money but reluctant to pay out. His Family in Wales are distraught, don2t know how they can raise that amount of money.

Wonder if he had alcohol in his blood, I know a lot of Insurance companies refuseto pay out when that is the situation?

fred wrote: Wonder if he had alcohol in his blood, I know a lot of Insurance companies refuseto pay out when that is the situation?

Morning Fred,

I presume as a Family Holiday he wouldn"t be drinking too much and having to be rushed to Hospital etc I don"t think anyone immediately thought of
the Insurance or the Hospital Staff would have measured his alcohol level.

Many years ago I worked for an Insurance Company and there was a claim from a PolicyHolder for a Settee. Apparently her husband and two friends
were sitting on it watching a Football Match and when their Team Scored they jumped up off the Settee with excitement then flopped back down
breaking the Settee in the process.

The Insurance Company wouldn"t pay out because they said it was an "incident" not an "Accident"

Panda

It's always in the "small print" and they will say anything even when a legitimate claim is put forward they prevaricate for as long as possible to get out of paying up.

I guess the only hope for this poor chap is to try and get witnesses who have done the same thing but it does sound a rather foolish thing to do.

Angelique wrote:Panda

It's always in the "small print" and they will say anything even when a legitimate claim is put forward they prevaricate for as long as possible to get out of paying up.

I guess the only hope for this poor chap is to try and get witnesses who have done the same thing but it does sound a rather foolish thing to do.

Angelique,

Maybe it was a bit foolhardy, but he had done it the previous day apparently , no problem and he is a 30 yr old Soldier, very fit, strong, and this time
he must have hit something which his Wife says caused paralysis in both legs and an arm. Insurance Firms are quick to take your money but slow to pay out.

Hi Panda

Do you have a link for this? I'm particularly interested because I am in insurance. Thanks

Sorry Chrissie, It was on my Local T.V.News yesterday, interview with the Holidaymakers Parents who are obviously devastated and wondering how they can raise the £44,000 Medical bills to get he and his Family home. I"m just popping out to post some letters so will get the Paper from the Corner Shop
and I"m sure there will be a report in there.

Panda wrote:

Sorry Chrissie, It was on my Local T.V.News yesterday, interview with the Holidaymakers Parents who are obviously devastated and wondering how they can raise the £44,000 Medical bills to get he and his Family home. I"m just popping out to post some letters so will get the Paper from the Corner Shop
and I"m sure there will be a report in there.

Hi Panda and thanks.

It sounds an absolute nightmare for them all. A warning to all to make sure you check the small print on your travel policies. Some budget ones do not cover medical expenses if you do not have an overnight stay in hospital. A friend dislocated his shoulder which did not require an overnight stay but he still had a large bill. Luckily he had read the small print!

Hi Chrissie,

It"s a long Article so I"m just picking out the relevant bits.

Michael, an Army engineer saw other people jumping off the Pier so thought he would have a go. Only 3ft from pier to water but he misjudged the depth of the water, broke his neck and was paralysed in both legs and one arm. rescued by other swimmers. The Insurance Company
initially paid for his Treatment in a Private Hospital but the Underwriter stopped the Payment on the grounds that Michael had taken an unnecessary
risk. He has movement in his legs and arm but cannot control movement. Michael has been left with a £23,000 Medical Bill and £20,000 to fly him and
his family home.

If he went to the British Embassey they will probably let him have the air fare or whatever - they have a special facility to use funds for this purpose I think.

Panda wrote:

Hi Chrissie,

It"s a long Article so I"m just picking out the relevant bits.

Michael, an Army engineer saw other people jumping off the Pier so thought he would have a go. Only 3ft from pier to water but he misjudged the depth of the water, broke his neck and was paralysed in both legs and one arm. rescued by other swimmers. The Insurance Company
initially paid for his Treatment in a Private Hospital but the Underwriter stopped the Payment on the grounds that Michael had taken an unnecessary
risk. He has movement in his legs and arm but cannot control movement. Michael has been left with a £23,000 Medical Bill and £20,000 to fly him and
his family home.

Thanks so much Panda,

He will have a valid case to bring against the insurers (work hat on here lol) as they have initially paid out so have acknowledged the claim ie. accepted responsibility that it is covered under the policy. If it wasn't, they would have paid zilch. What they appear to be doing is trying to involve 'contributory negligence' by saying that he acted recklessly. I'm sure he would have enough evidence to say that there were no warning signs, others were doing it, he did it the day before etc...

Very sadly though, these things take time and only add to mounting bills for him and his family. What a tragic case!! I really hope it gets sorted when you compare this scenario with all the fraudulent claims that do get paid out!

Local T.V. News Announcement

The soldier will be flying back to the U.K. tomorrow, courtesy of the generosity of 2 companies (no mention if one was his Insurance Company) and an
Army Charity.

Looks as if his Ins. company refused to pay up or the Army Charity wouldn"t have got involved. I"ll get the Paper tomorrow. At least he and his Family
will be relieved and I hope his Insurance Company, not well known , are blacklisted.

Panda wrote:

Local T.V. News Announcement

The soldier will be flying back to the U.K. tomorrow, courtesy of the generosity of 2 companies (no mention if one was his Insurance Company) and an
Army Charity.

Looks as if his Ins. company refused to pay up or the Army Charity wouldn"t have got involved. I"ll get the Paper tomorrow. At least he and his Family
will be relieved and I hope his Insurance Company, not well known , are blacklisted.

Thanks for the update Panda. Really pleased he is on his way back with his family. A tragic case. Just for the record, I don't work for an Insurance company but am an Insurance Manager for my company. He still has a case against his insurers though IMO. Well done to the Army charity.

Glad they will be home. He and his family will need all their family and friends around them at this time.
What a sad story.

Any excuse and the Insurance Companies don't pay out, they are quick to take your money, and slow to give you it back, but I'm sure if this guys get enough publicity the Ins Co. will cave in, hopefully.

How could the Insurance Company refuse a claim like that when we all know of people who have cheated the system. This was a Husband paralysed and helpless, a Wife beside herself with grief and worry with two young children one 5 yrs of age and the other 18 months and no one around to support her.
Their local MP got involved and generous Companies and the Army Charity were quick to find the money to get them all home. If as Chrissie says, theirs was a valid claim. I hope the MP orders an investigation .

This is good news that he has actually arrived home - I too hope he gets his compensation - the Insurance company should not be allowed to get away with this.