News Forum - Young British woman ‘may never walk again’ after fall from balcony in Thailand

[Thaiger]

A young British tourist is seriously injured and remains in hospital in Thailand after falling from a balcony on the popular party island of Koh Pha Ngan. Maddi Neale-Shankster, a 21 year old beautician from Coventry in England, suffered a fractured spine and is receiving treatment to drain fluid from her chest following the accident. The beautician travelled to Thailand with her partner for a three-week dream holiday which turned sour when she fell from a low balcony after ringing in the new year. The sound of Maddi screaming woke up her friend staying in a nearby room. The ambulance arrived […]

The story Young British woman ‘may never walk again’ after fall from balcony in Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[Vigo]

Sad tragedy and I do feel for the young person.

Unfortunately, I have had this type of person in close proximity to me  in my younger period and they can be unmanageable. Sorry, but no; "Maddi’s mother says the balconies at the resort – which she did not name – are to blame…“The pictures we have of the balcony where she fell are outrageous, you would never get away with that in the UK.”, and so? You were not in UK.  What floor was this? A prudent person would have made note of balcony and behaved appropriately.  I do not know if girl was drunk or dangling her legs off balcony, and I won't make suggestion, but people don't just fall off balcony. It is intentional either crime or suicide or misadventure by taking risk or engaging in dangerous behavior. Was girl alone? Was she inebriated? She was at a venue where young people can drink themselves into a coma, so her pre injury condition will be relevant.

 

[Ramanathan.P]

Does she was having her new year party at the balcony? 

[Bluesofa]

1 hour ago, Vigo said:

“Maddi’s partner hasn’t left her side and has been given two plastic chairs to sleep on. They’ve got no belongings with them, it’s horrific.”

Is it horrific that it's not perceived as the same standard as the UK?
I don't know what sort of hospital it is. I wonder if they had travel and accident insurance?
If they were covered, I'm sure he would have given a (paid for) bed next to her, if she was in a private room.

[Fanta]

I was waiting for the GoFund Me pitch. Hope she gets better soon. 

[Soidog]

DBB is a standard reporting code for the Thai Police…

[JohninDublin]

53 minutes ago, Soidog said:

DBB is a standard reporting code for the Thai Police…

DBB? Please explain.

[Soidog]

1 minute ago, JohninDublin said:

DBB? Please explain.

Thanks for feeding me the line John, I’ve been waiting

DBB is the technical code for Death By Balcony. It’s a regular occurrence in the Land of Smiles and so the police find it easier to use the short form code. A bit like LOS. Or TIT  

[JohninDublin]

11 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Thanks for feeding me the line John, I’ve been waiting

DBB is the technical code for Death By Balcony. It’s a regular occurrence in the Land of Smiles and so the police find it easier to use the short form code. A bit like LOS. Or TIT  

Funnily enough, when I first saw this headline, my thoughts were that there seems to be a high incidence of such events in TH. 

 

[Saunk]

3 hours ago, Soidog said:

Thanks for feeding me the line John, I’ve been waiting

DBB is the technical code for Death By Balcony. It’s a regular occurrence in the Land of Smiles and so the police find it easier to use the short form code. A bit like LOS. Or TIT  

I thought they called it the Thailand Flyer's Club? or is that only the Pattaya Flyer's Club?

The mum blaming the balcony is typical, don't blame the individual who was likely drunk on a balcony.

[HolyCowCm]

Well, the truth of the matter is the balconies are a danger and huge safety risk. My thoughts are alcohol is a big culprit and perhaps her leaning over on the one she was at and perhaps just did a flip right off of it intoxicated. Let’s hope she recovers, abs Thailand changes the law for adequate balcony and window height. 

[cowslip]

13 hours ago, Vigo said:

Sad tragedy and I do feel for the young person.

Unfortunately, I have had this type of person in close proximity to me  in my younger period and they can be unmanageable. Sorry, but no; "Maddi’s mother says the balconies at the resort – which she did not name – are to blame…“The pictures we have of the balcony where she fell are outrageous, you would never get away with that in the UK.”, and so? You were not in UK.  What floor was this? A prudent person would have made note of balcony and behaved appropriately.  I do not know if girl was drunk or dangling her legs off balcony, and I won't make suggestion, but people don't just fall off balcony. It is intentional either crime or suicide or misadventure by taking risk or engaging in dangerous behavior. Was girl alone? Was she inebriated? She was at a venue where young people can drink themselves into a coma, so her pre injury condition will be relevant.

Lots of people fall from balconies in Thailand. The design and build would not past muster in the UK or most of Europe....in the USA people would be sued.

Some of the apartment blocks in resort towns in Thailand horrify me, I can't believe the architects think they are fit for purpose.

There are of course lots of other designs that would be illegal in US/EU - notably the swimming pools that are potential deathtraps and aces of tiles floors.

[cowslip]

2 hours ago, Saunk said:

I thought they called it the Thailand Flyer's Club? or is that only the Pattaya Flyer's Club?

The mum blaming the balcony is typical, don't blame the individual who was likely drunk on a balcony.

Sorry but this is a common fault in Thailand and simply blaming people is just not understanding the problem.

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, cowslip said:

Lots of people fall from balconies in Thailand. The design and build would not past muster in the UK or most of Europe....in the USA people would be sued.

Some of the apartment blocks in resort towns in Thailand horrify me, I can't believe the architects think they are fit for purpose.

There are of course lots of other designs that would be illegal in US/EU - notably the swimming pools that are potential deathtraps and aces of tiles floors.

So are they too short?

 

I honestly have never noticed

 

Will make a point to look next time

[cowslip]

""Short"?? - no .... balconies in EU and UK have balustrade minimum height regs, size in dimensions and square meters relating to the number of people they can accommodate, strength, drainage and tiling. There are also material requirement including making the balconies visible in poor light and access from the room

[socal]

13 hours ago, Ramanathan.P said:

Does she was having her new year party at the balcony? 

Most likely. Ppl like to be macho on balconies and stand by the edge without care. 

 

Balconies are f'ing dangerous. Being afraid of heights is a basic survival instinct. But some ppl don't have it 

 

[socal]

28 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

So are they too short?

I honestly have never noticed

Will make a point to look next time

Some are a little shorter. The average height in Asia is lower. Some of these buildings are 40 years old and ppl expect them to be built to white man's specs i guess

[socal]

7 hours ago, JohninDublin said:

Funnily enough, when I first saw this headline, my thoughts were that there seems to be a high incidence of such events in TH. 

Thailand and China are the only 2 Asian countries in the top 10 most traveled destinations. And Thailand most likely attracts a more wonky demographic than China. So it makes sense. 

[JohninDublin]

31 minutes ago, socal said:

Thailand and China are the only 2 Asian countries in the top 10 most traveled destinations. And Thailand most likely attracts a more wonky demographic than China. So it makes sense. 

I really don't understand that point. I've probably read more stories about window falls in TH, than I've read of in other countries, and most are about Thais including unattended children. I rarely see stories of non-Thais suffering the same fate. 

[socal]

1 hour ago, JohninDublin said:

I really don't understand that point. I've probably read more stories about window falls in TH, than I've read of in other countries, and most are about Thais including unattended children. I rarely see stories of non-Thais suffering the same fate. 

Well, the mother of the girl in this case is saying that the rail is too low. And other posters are saying the same. And it does happen to farangs a lot. 

I am just theorizing that Thailand is attracting more farangs to these short rails than anywhere else and this is the result. 

[PATRIQUE]

Difficult to blame anyone or something for this ? Thai standards are not UK standards .

I m afraid off hights and I know after 12 years in Thailand that i wouldnt stand out on a balcony like this because it ld make me feel sick instantly

i probably wouldnt even rent that place .

Sadly , the hospital in Phangnan is not a place you want to be with an injury like this -

[Soidog]

3 hours ago, socal said:

and ppl expect them to be built to white man's specs i guess

Yes please. Much safer that way. The world can learn a lot. 

[JohninDublin]

1 hour ago, socal said:

Well, the mother of the girl in this case is saying that the rail is too low. And other posters are saying the same. And it does happen to farangs a lot. 

I am just theorizing that Thailand is attracting more farangs to these short rails than anywhere else and this is the result. 

I still don't see where China comes in. Sorry

[Bluesofa]

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

4 hours ago, socal said:

and ppl expect them to be built to white man's specs i guess

Yes please. Much safer that way. The world can learn a lot. 

Until a child or a vertically-challenged visitor falls though the gap in the balcony's vertical rails.

<For the hard-of-learning: The text above may contain traces of sarcasm>

[HiuMak]

Likely drugs or alcohol involve.

BTW, this article is written very badly.