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AIBU?

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Original poster

to think you don't go on holiday whilst having a high risk pregnancy and without adequate insurance

707 replies

Defenderwife · 04/10/2015 10:57

Woman gives birth after food poisoning whilst on holiday in the Dominic Republic.

She had a cervical cerclage so knew she had a high risk pregnancy.

Her insurance didn't cover her entire pregnancy.

They are now stranded with a premature baby in a foreign country with no financial help and are relying on donations and GoFundMe.

I have made a donation but inside I feel almost angry. Why on earth have they let themselves be in this situation? That poor poor child.

OP posts:
multivac · 05/10/2015 11:00
multivac · 05/10/2015 11:00
specialsubject · 05/10/2015 11:05

there is an obvious difference (for those whose brains have not turned to mush) walking out of the house while pregnant and flying to an undeveloped poor country while pregnant.

sounds like the insurers will pay, but doesn't negate that these two deliberately travelled uninsured as the policy would have expired before their return.

hopefully their passports will be cancelled when they get back, as they really have shown they aren't sensible enough to go abroad. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

if there is spare money, I think it should go to the DR hospitals to help other kids whose parents don't have the same choices.

twelfstripe · 05/10/2015 11:11

multi what an intelligent and thought out post. Hmm

What do you suggest they do with the money now that it has been confirmed the insurance is paying?

Why did they start a crowd funding page when they were not award if the insurance would pay?

Why, when the insurance confirmed it would pay, has the couple not updated their crowd funding page?

KimKK · 05/10/2015 11:12

multivac You seem to be taking this very personally.

multivac · 05/10/2015 11:19

I'm not taking it personally at all, KKK - but thank you for the concern. And twelf, it was in reference to my pp, which was terribly intelligent and thought out while I was running this morning.

IAmABeachWave · 05/10/2015 11:49

Very sad situation about the baby and wish them well. Especially about the mother not being able to visit and must be very scary with the language barrier.

I hope people realise how lucky they are with the NHS.

But travelling when you know your travel insurance runs out a few days before you return home is just crazy.

sleepyelectricsheep · 05/10/2015 12:20

I am delighted to hear that the insurance company will be paying out. Thank goodness for that, Baby Evie can presumably go back to the decent hospital and her chances of survival are better.

I feel relieved for the family and sorry for the other babies who are left behind in appalling conditions.

I am cynical about the insurance company's claim that they were going to pay out all along. If that is the case then why did the parents clear their own bank accounts of every penny they had (thousands) to pay the hospital before being made to leave when the money ran out?

If the baby was covered why has she had to endure the risks of being in third world standard hospital?

sleepyelectricsheep · 05/10/2015 12:21

Now it has been confirmed the insurance is paying out will all those who were berating the parents for having inadequate insurance take back what they said then?

specialsubject · 05/10/2015 12:27

They (or rather the baby) have been very lucky indeed that the insurers decided to pay. There was no contract to do so, hence the insurers have made a charitable donation. Extremely kind of them although they will have made a judgement call on the publicity issue.

the gofundme account now needs to be closed and all money returned. I would like to see a statement made 'we were bloody stupid, we have learned, everybody else learn by our example and don't make our mistake. Others may end up losing EVERYTHING if they are this foolish. We are opening a separate appeal to donate money to the hospital that treated our daughter'.

we will all pay because premiums will go up to cover this kind of thing.

TheCraicDealer · 05/10/2015 12:38

But based on their own reason why their claim was denied the cover was clearly inadequate. She was still going to be on holiday past the 29-week point. It's not unusual for Insurers to decide to cover costs despite policy cover not engaging because of the shitstorm it might cause in the press or because they might be on dodgy ground with the ombudsman or retail broker.

Cerseirys · 05/10/2015 12:58

Interesting wording in this article which says the couple "had thought" the insurance company wouldn't pay out. Does that mean they just assumed it wouldn't pay or did they have some confirmation of that? I would now hope the Go Fund Me page is closed and the money is either refunded to the donors or donated to the hospital because it sounds like it could use the funds.

definiteissues · 05/10/2015 13:07

I won't be apologising for slating them for not having adequate insurance.
It is their own admission that their insurance wasn't good enough. Just because the insurance company have decided to pay doesn't mean the policy was valid.

But hey, there aren't any losers here are there? Evie gets her medical care and her parents get 70k to play with

PHANTOMnamechanger · 05/10/2015 13:16

Now it has been confirmed the insurance is paying out will all those who were berating the parents for having inadequate insurance take back what they said then?

but their insurance WAS inadequate though! all that quibbling over the date/time zone thing and whether they were under or over 29 weeks, which the insurance company claim to have not been a part of anyway, is irrelevant, given their holiday lasted until 3 days after she was 29 weeks.

milkmilklemonade12 · 05/10/2015 13:22

Well no I won't take back what I said because they still had invalid insurance! They even said that, so that's a fact.

What happens to the money that's been donated?

TheStripyGruffalo · 05/10/2015 13:27

Their Go Fund Me page is still open and accepting donations. That is morally wrong IMO.

Doublebubblebubble · 05/10/2015 13:30

Sorry i have no sympathy either.

I had booked a lovely holiday for June this year to Italy (would have been around 6 months pregnant- currently 40+1) because of my history my consultant wrote a letter categorically stating that I couldn't fly. There was no umming and ahhhing about whether or not we could go.The life of my baby was and is worth way way way way more than a holiday. The paperwork was a nightmare. In the end (because it was all but paid for - we booked before I got pregnant - so it really was our fault) We ended up "selling" the holiday on to my aunt and uncle (who spent something like £750 - just for the name changes!!) I hope they get out of there soon. That poor baby but it doesn't bode well that they were that irresponsible and they shouldn't just expect a hand out just 'cause.

mollie123 · 05/10/2015 13:33

£70K on gofundme and many recent donations Shock agree it should be halted if the insurance company are now paying.

TheStripyGruffalo · 05/10/2015 13:39

milkmilk I expect they will pay off some of their mortgage....or maybe I am too cynical?

MaryPoppinsPenguins · 05/10/2015 13:45

When the baby Dax insurers confirmed they would be paying, there was the same outrage over donations, and nothing ever happened. They carried on raising money, and there were no ramifications.

The public have essentially just paid 70k off their mortgage then, yes.

mollie123 · 05/10/2015 13:46

I find this whole gofundme thing except for really heartbreaking cases a bit uncomfortable
Often the fund is set up before all avenues to resolve the crisis are explored and there is a kind of mass hysteria that breaks out.
Remember the elderly couple living in an airport and the DAX story
Fine if the money raised is donated to a worthy charity if it is not returned to the donors.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 05/10/2015 13:49

Their Go Fund Me page is still open and accepting donations

Oh dear ...

ThroughThickAndThin01 · 05/10/2015 13:54

will all those who were berating the parents for having inadequate insurance take back what they said then

No! Makes me think they are even more ridiculous and grabby. They couldn't be bothered to find out the terms of their insurance and whether they were actually covered; instead rushed out to make money out of the general public.

Exceptionally pleased I didn't donate; and thanks to them other people might not now donate to anyone needing legitimate and desperate help.

Dildals · 05/10/2015 13:58

Even if you have cover would you really want to take the risk of ending up in a neonatal unit abroad? I had 2 high risk pregnancies and the last trip abroad I did was at 20 weeks (with adequate cover and knowing where the hospital was with a neonatal unit), second trip to Dorset at 27 weeks, babies arrived two weeks later! Each to their own I guess but cover or not I would not have taken the chance!

Cerseirys · 05/10/2015 14:12

The thing that pissed me off the most about Dax's parents was that after a bit they were saying they needed the money to buy things like furniture and a pram. Now it isn't like she didn't realise she was pregnant - they should've budgeted for items like that. If they could afford first class tickets to NYC then they could've afforded a Bugaboo! I really hope this couple don't end up doing the same. People are still donating but as they say, a fool and their money are easily parted.

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