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Family of dead
Irishman gets €50,000 Thai hospital bill
The family of an Irishman who died in hospital in
Thailand recently following an accident has not been able to bring home his
body because of an outstanding hospital bill of €50,000.
The Thai hospital is refusing to release the body of the man who died after
a fall, until his healthcare bill is paid. He had no travel insurance and
his family has so far been unable to come up with the funds.
The hospital bill is €50,000, and a further €5,000 is needed to repatriate
the body.
This is just one of a number of recent cases of Irish people who have
suffered when something went wrong abroad and they had no travel insurance.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has appealed to everyone taking a
foreign holiday to take out travel insurance.
A spokesman for the minister declined to comment on individual cases but
Ahern said there was a growing worldwide problem of individuals travelling
without insurance cover.
‘‘Most of the problems stem from the dotcom world, where at a touch of a
button people can book their holidays and flights online,” he said.
‘‘Sadly, in a growing number of cases, they do not also click for travel
insurance.”
In September, an Irish woman died in Spain and €7,000 had to be paid for
undertaker costs and repatriation oft he body. In August, another Irish
person required medical treatment in Malaysia which cost several thousand
euro.
‘‘While, statistically, probably less than 1 per cent of Irish people run
into difficulties when health and medical problems arise, they can prove
very expensive,” he said.
Ahern said he was trying to find out what percentage of Irish people who
travel did not have insurance cover.
‘‘There is enough heartache for the families of loved ones who die or are
seriously injured abroad without also the added worry of trying to pay
expensive medical treatments and air ambulance costs,” he said.
The issue is an international one, with countries such as Denmark providing
insurance state cover for citizens in the Mediterranean region.
THE POST.IE : Sunday, November 19, 2006
- By Richard
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