Nightmare Accident Abroad: The Costly Reality of Uninsured Winter Sports Injuries

2024-03-06 20:12:00

Egypt had been looming with rejoicing for months. The family vacation week promised to be amazing. And everything went perfectly. At least, for barely a hundred meters…

The two parents and their two children aged 2 and 3 are in the back of a minibus which must transfer them from Hurghada airport to their hotel. After a mere hectometer of travel, a brainless car crashes fiercely into the back of the minibus, at the precise place where these four Belgians are sitting. The transport vehicle will end up propelled against a palm tree…

When winter sports turn into a nightmare: in the event of an uninsured accident, it can cost thousands of euros just to get off the slopes!

Ludovic, the dad, takes it hard to the point of sustaining a concussion. Stitches to the nose and arch will be placed.

His shin cracked open. The left kneecap fractures. The ligaments are affected.

Ludovic, injured in the knee and shin. ©DR

The cut that crosses the thigh of Élodie, the mother, offers monstrous measurements: 25 cm long and 10 cm wide. The result is gory. “I had my son on my lap. I was thrown to the front of the bus. A Belgian rescuer happened to pass by. She provided us with first aid while waiting for the ambulance.”

A very deep wound for Elodie ©DR A very deep wound for Elodie. ©DR

It was last Saturday. Since then, this Ottignies family has been stuck with Kafka. “We are stuck here, without a solution for repatriation, without knowing precisely why,” Élodie explains to us.

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Originally, a carnage caused by two young people aged 15 and 16, without a license, in the front of a car. “A tire apparently burst while they were passing a speed bump, resulting in loss of control. Given the shock, they still had to drive very quickly,” says the mother.

Woman thigh injury ©Dh

At the hospital, three hours of waiting before being taken care of. After the urgent “repairs”, the doctors give the green light to leave the hospital and for repatriation. This is where the parents face off against weird blocking walls. Impossible to return to the country. “At first, simply because the police had seized our identity cards even though we were the victims. This was the cross and the banner to bring them back.”

Finally on Monday, the sesames are collected. But there is no reason to claim victory. “For repatriation, our insurer cannot tell us when it will be possible.”

Family accident vacation ©DH

The clan’s ambition, validated by the tour operator, is then to return to the hotel. The same insurer cools them. “You can’t, you have to stay in the hospital. If something happens to you on the journey or in your hotel, a trip that aggravates our situation for example, it will be your fault and there will be nothing we can do,” we were told.

Well noted: the rest of the indefinite stay will be spent in the hospital… but without care. Until when ? “At least until March 9. At most, we don’t know. We are told that there is no more room on the planes. And what’s more, this repatriation will be medicalized, in the presence of a nurse released by the insurer,” Élodie despairs. Since then, things have moved heaven and earth. Contacts with the embassy, ​​the consulate, Foreign Affairs… “Nothing is moving to get us back to Belgium quickly when we are not in a position to manage our two children ourselves, who suffer from bodily injuries and are in good condition. shock. At the hospital, they let us fend for ourselves.”

Moral of the story: “Be careful when choosing a repatriation insurer. Find out about the quality of the service,” advocates Élodie. “Here, I don’t know if there is dishonesty or incompetence but what we were subjected to, in absolute vagueness, is scandalous. “

Blow injury caused by the belt for one of the two children. ©DR
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