BootsnAll Travel Community

A 25 year old Canadian is sitting in a Mexican hospital right now with two broken legs, a broken pelvis, swelling of the brain and internal injuries. The hospital is refusing to treat him because he doesn't have the money to pay.

He did purchase travel insurance, but there is a loophole in his policy that he voids all medical coverage if the accident happened while he was drinking and he was at the time of his accident (a 7 story fall off of a balcony).

His family and friends are trying to raise the $50,000 needed to get him some stabalized and transfered home. All the Mexican hospital are providing is painkillers.



Is this loophole common knowledge?

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/25/mexico-insurance060425.html

Yes, to my knowledge there is no exception. You've got to be careful with booze and drugs!

Poor guy, though!

That poor guy is in dire straits, for if he doesn't get good treatment quick, infection (gangrene), deterioration of his condition, pressure build up on the brain, all sorts of bad stuff could happen.

If I was his folks, I'd be getting on to their local member of parliament and say hey pull the strings to get this fixed and lets worry on the cost later.

But to the insurance avoidance, I would not mind betting that very few are actually aware of the voiding because they do not usually read the full insurance conditions.
But if you look at motor vehicle insurance, personal indemnity, workers compensation etc., you would probably find that presence of alcohol or drugs would be looked at as contributory and void cover.

I've also put being an illegal visitor into the consideration pot re people who now get caught up in the Schengen/EU Schitz of only effectively 90 days of illegality being possibl;e in Western Europe - if the Insurance companies can get out of paying, no doubt they will and quite possible they could say sorry, you're illegal.

He has been airlifed to Edmonton as far as I know. The government of Canada paid for his transportation and medical costs, but the family must repay the money since he was outside of the country at the time of the injury.

The word out of Mexico has been horrible. His friends reported that the hospital was going to discharge him if they didn't come up with over $10,000. His friends back home and complete strangers have chipped in to help cover his stay there. That wasn't for any treatment, they didn't even stop the bleeding according to one story. They brought towels in from the hotel to use to keep him from bleeding to death.

http://www.meridianbooster.com/story.php?id=226944

That's great news Libby in that he is being airlifted home or has, but how sick can the Mexican system be.

Like OK, do they want to be considered a third world country and either way the Canadian Foreign Minister ought to have the Mexican ambassador if they have one call on him, or better still call him before parliament and really rip it into him, organise a Presidential visit and do the same to him as well - just not good enough.

OK, people do foolish things sometimes that lead to their dilemmas, but as you say, some humanity and help should prevail.

There was a similar example of an Aussie woman was involved in a vehicle accident in Greece some years back and suffered very severe burns and she had gone abroad without insurance - and yes we can say silly woman.
Her state government forked out a heap of dough that time to have her treated and repatriated home.

Hope that guy recovers from what has been a perilous situation.