Family pays $240,000 medical bill after son’s motorcycle accident in Bali
An Adelaide mother has issued a chilling warning after being fined over $240,000 in medical expenses after her son fell off a motorbike while on holiday with friends in Bali.
Blake Gibb, 30, was vacationing with two friends on the Indonesian island of Lembongan when the horrific incident took place.
He was riding a scooter when he came out of a bend and crashed into a concrete wall.
He suffered serious facial and brain injuries that required emergency life-saving surgery at the International Medical Center in Bali before being flown back to Australia by rescue helicopter.
However, since he didn’t add the $7 motorcycle insurance when choosing his travel insurance, his family has to foot the bill for his extensive surgeries, which his mother, Rosslyn Gibb, says will total about $240,000.
“His friends took him to a medical center and called us at 1 a.m. and asked for $4,000 because you have to pay upfront,” Ms. Gibb said.
“They had to transport him by boat to Lembongan Island in Bali… and then he was medivaced from Bali to Adelaide.”
Gibb recalls signing a document at the time that said the family would pay hospital fees if the insurance claim failed, but she thought nothing of it at the time.
Shortly after returning to Australia, Freely, which is owned by the CoverMore group, informed the family that they would not be paying for Jedd’s medical needs.
“When you find yourself in such an emergency, you will do anything you want,” he said.
“I had no intention of staying in Bali and hoping. They said to us, “We told the Medivac people they have to bring him back to Australia because he’s not going to make it.”
Now that her son is recovering from his serious injuries at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, his Family started a GoFundMe to bear the costs.
Mr Briggs, who just had facial reconstruction surgery on Tuesday, will hopefully be transferred to intensive care for a few weeks before being transferred to a neurology ward and then rehab.
“They said after two years you will know how many functions he will get back,” he said.
“He whispers but we can’t always hear it and his right side works so it’s just an uphill battle. One step at a time.”
Though friends, family and complete strangers joined forces to raise more than $23,000 in just two days, Gibb warned other travelers to “read the fine print” when purchasing travel insurance.
“He would have paid the full amount if he had thought about it, but he has no insurance because he didn’t click the box to say ‘yes he would (ride a motorbike)’ and he has the insurer didn’t call before his trip,” she said.
In a statement, a spokesman for Freely said the company was “delighted that we were able to help Blake Gibb return to Australia after his serious motorcycle accident in Bali.” And we wish him the best possible recovery.
“Due to our data protection commitment, Freely is unable to provide further disclosures on the individual or specific details of Blake’s case.
“It is common practice in Australia to take out motorcycle/moped insurance as a ‘supplement’ to travel insurance.
Freely’s motorcycle/moped add-on or ‘boost’ can easily be added to your travel insurance when you first take out it or at any time during your trip before you hop on a motorcycle or moped.
“This is clearly explained on our website, http://www.freely.me, and in the Freely app. When travelers to Bali take out our policy, they will be shown information specifically asking if they want to add motorcycle/moped insurance.”
NCA NewsWire reached out to Freely for further comment.
