News Forum - British Muay Thai fighter seriously injured after motorbike crash in southern Thailand

[Thaiger]

A British Muay Thai fighter is undergoing surgery in Bangkok after he was involved in a serious road accident in Koh Samui on April 13. Chris – a 32 year old martial arts champion from York, UK – pulled out of a coffee shop on his motorbike when he was crushed by a pickup truck. Chris survived the incident but sustained multiple injuries and broken bones in his skull. Chris received emergency treatment at a hospital in Koh Samui for three days and was later flown to a hospital in Bangkok where he is now undergoing multiple operations. Over two […]

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[TSS]

...we think it unlikely that they will pay, a decision has not been made yet...

9 mos. in country, Chris must have paid for the (then US$50K or maybe $100K) mandatory health insurance which would cover his stay here. But insurance not pay? shocking!

 

[Ramanathan.P]

It is normal for insurance companies to find all the excuses not to pay....in this case I have a strong feeling that the insurance company might focus on the motorcycle to avoid the insurance payment......

[JMJM]

If the insurance policy excluded dangerous activities like motorcycle riding and muay thai fighting, when exactly was this guy covered?  

[Saunk]

Hope the guy recovers fully.

Cases like these why I don't ride or take a motorbike taxi in Thailand or any other country.  

[Nivram]

Who drove the pickup truck?

He should pay for the medical bills if he is at fault.

[Guest1]

33 minutes ago, Nivram said:

Who drove the pickup truck?

He should pay for the medical bills if he is at fault.

But there is a "little" chance, that the someone getting into the traffic, from the side of the road, was at fault? Also even if the pickup truck was insured, that might be a mandatory or just a 300/600k one.

16 hours ago, TSS said:

...we think it unlikely that they will pay, a decision has not been made yet...

9 mos. in country, Chris must have paid for the (then US$50K or maybe $100K) mandatory health insurance which would cover his stay here. But insurance not pay? shocking!

Perhaps he has extended his stay? 30 days insurance, done?

His family has launched a GoFundMe page to raise £60,000 to pay for his hospital bills in Thailand because Chris is too badly injured to fly home to England to seek medical treatment. 

And my guess for the "too badly injured to fly home" is: Can't use a commercial flight, an ambulance flight with no insurance is more expensive as the costs till now.

That is the problem for this "just have fun in Thailand"  long term stayers, as soon something goes wrong, there is no net to catch them.

Good luck with the injuries and the government hospital! Btw: They will "repair" what they can, even if no one pays the bills! 

[Nivram]

That is why the government should impose an airport tax on all foreign entries into Thailand to cover medical costs incurred and unpaid by foreigners who do not have adequate insurance coverage.

[Fanta]

18 minutes ago, Nivram said:

That is why the government should impose an airport tax on all foreign entries into Thailand to cover medical costs incurred and unpaid by foreigners who do not have adequate insurance coverage.

They have. It is included in the 300 baht arrival free soon to be imposed. 

[birdman]

29 minutes ago, Nivram said:

That is why the government should impose an airport tax on all foreign entries into Thailand to cover medical costs incurred and unpaid by foreigners who do not have adequate insurance coverage.

A good chuckle,so soon nobody has to buy insurance any more?

Going by the numbers there are only a few people who can not or will not

pay their hospital bill.

Already 500 Baht and soon an extra 300,why not?

 

[HolyCowCm]

They just need to implement insurance policy plans for everyone. Long timers pay at the renewal and visitors and tourists by means on air ticket as is being done now. Problem with this might be how long will the coverage will be good for.

[Guest1]

22 minutes ago, birdman said:

Already 500 Baht and soon an extra 300,why not?

You see  how that works?

You are still in the 500B number, b/c you may have paid it over the counter, "decades" ago. But that is "for ages" 700 Baht. You just don't see it any longer, since it is part of the  price of the  flight out of Thailand

If the Thais would be clever (ok, often an oxymoron by western standards), they would have just purred it into the ticket price, no exempts, done. No one sees it, most people don't even find out or know  about it. And the others forget about, soon. Even in the hospital, in case they need it. Win/win! ;-)

[Vigo]

16 hours ago, Ramanathan.P said:

It is normal for insurance companies to find all the excuses not to pay....in this case I have a strong feeling that the insurance company might focus on the motorcycle to avoid the insurance payment......

Rubbish.  An insurance policy is a contract of indemnity and pays as per the contract.   It is the responsibility of the policy holder to read the contract and to know what is covered. Have you considered  that perhaps the  health insurance policy did not  insure motorcycle vehicle activity and the policy holder was aware of that?

14 hours ago, JMJM said:

If the insurance policy excluded dangerous activities like motorcycle riding and muay thai fighting, when exactly was this guy covered?  

Have you seen the  insurance policy or read  a common UK issued  travel health insurance contract wording? If you do, you will see a section that sets out what is covered and not covered, and one of the conditions is that the person must be legally licensed (in the UK) to drive the vehicle. Also some insurers, require the vehicle power to be declared with a premium commensurate with the exposure.  Insurance policies do not indemnify a driver who is not legally allowed to drive a vehicle. 

Did the injured party declare his motorcycle activity and the type of vehicle  to be used to the insurer? was the  driver licensed to drive the vehicle?

Why would you expect a  travel health insurance policy to  cover injuries sustained from muay thai fighting? Injury is an expected outcome.   Travel health Insurance policies are transfers of risk intended to cover unexpected / unintended events. Every health insurance policy has an explicit statement in respect to excluded activities. It is expected that people would get injured in muay thai. 

The coverage would cover regular activity such as being struck by a motor vehicle while a passenger, declared driver, or pedestrian. It would cover slip and fall, food poisoning, injury sustained from  common physical activity, injury sustained as a victim of crime and even from misadventure such as falling from a balcony. That is why the coverage is so inexpensive.

It is unreasonable to "blame" the insurer, when the  complete facts of this event are unknown.