Daughter broke her arm - due to go on holiday, can I cancel?

[BrokenArmworries]

My DD8 broke her arm this week. Silly accident just in the playground, nobody’s fault. It’s quite a bad break and she has a cast on from her wrist to shoulder, so she can’t bend her arm and it’s in a sling.

we are supposed to be going on holiday next week.. all inclusive, pool and kids water slide park etc. all the things she won’t be able to do.

im gutted for her! She LOVES a pool and all she wants to do on holiday is play in the pool. She won’t be able to go on slides due to the full arm cast. We have a waterproof covering for it, but the whole arm cast makes everything quite tricky for her. She can’t put weight in it (yet).

AIBU to cancel and claim through our travel insurance? I booked the flights and hotel separately, so not a package holiday. Would travel insurance cover this?

she has to go to hospital again next week before we go on holiday to have it x-ray’d again to make sure it’s healing correctly. She will have to have it x-rayd again once we are back. They did want to see whilst we are away but said they could work around our travel dates.

other details - we are a family of 4, I have another DD11.
we have already been on a lovely holiday this summer, so if we didn’t go this time, nobody would feel they are missing out, and we could put the money towards fun things later in the year.

YABU - go on holiday and try to make the most of it.
YANBU - cancel and use the money another time.

Would the heat not make this extremely itchy and uncomfortable for her?
Poor mite.
I would be seeing if it can be cancelled with a full refund.
If not, perhaps chance it.

Of course he could. Don’t be silly.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a doctor that will provide a medical certificate because you didn’t think that she could be entertained. If it’s not for a medical reason, they won’t provide it.

Contact your insurance company - each one is different so there’s no definitive answer. If they agree provisionally to pay out you’ll need to forward the relevant proof which might mean paying for the report from the doctor, do talk to your insurance before you do anything else. If a doctor says she’s not fit to fly that would help but I doubt that will be the case

Thanks for the insurance advice - I will check with her doctors about her fitness to fly.

poor kid. I can’t imagine it would be much fun and it must be painful, so tricky to travel, dress and relax. You should be able to cancel and claim but need medical evidence.

People saying she can paddle and mum (?🤨) can entertain her ….
this is supposed to be a holiday. At 8 years old ‘paddling’ in 39/40 degree heat (assuming it’s southern Europe) with a while arm cast will be about as fun as sitting in a sauna with a wetsuit on.

Mum AND DAD won’t be having a whole lot of fun either if what was supposed to be some degree of relaxing whilst the dc played within site on their own.

What is the possible point going?

It’s not just as simple as deciding you don’t want to go because it won’t be very fun. You need medical evidence of not being able to travel, as in a doctor has said it’s not safe. My mum has had a claim denied because my dad was in A&E until 4am the day they were due to fly, because she could’ve technically could have travelled because she was fit to fly! Insurance companies are absolute buggers but you need to be 100% sure you’ll be getting a refund before you decide to not go.

I would cancel, especially as you have already had a holiday. Save the money for when you can all enjoy it fully.

Poor girl! Hope it mends quickly. I definitely wouldn’t go on holiday with her like this though.

By the by, I am trying to imagine how she wears a sling when she is in a full arm cast but cannot bend her arm??

Also think you should cancel, a cast when it's hot isn't pleasant and one of you are likely to need to stay with her inside to find air con

plus making sure you're medical insurance covers any complications while you're there - assuming she's fit to fly, check the airline's T&Cs etc as well as your holiday insurance company

we've taken kids with broken wrists (stable and in a splint not cast) and a chipped foot bone - also in a splint on holiday but they were both getting towards the end of their healing process - I'd be worried if she slip or someone knocked her especially in the tight confines of a plane and caused more damage especially as her break was so recent

What a shame. Try and get the insurance to pay out and book a trip for October half term instead maybe?

Check it’s covered by your insurance and if it is definitely cancel it and go another time. Similar happened to me as a child: I was so looking forward to the holiday and being in the water all day, but then I couldn’t 😞 It upset me a lot and I was in tears while we were there even though I tried not to ruin the holiday. I was a couple of years older than your DD and was surprised at how much it upset me.

If you can I’d cancel. Won’t be much fun for any of you.

There was another post exactly the same today but a younger boy. Posters were saying if the child has an appointment after return it might be covered as it's still under medical treatment.

Check with your insurance BEFORE you cancel and don’t assume you are covered.

I would 100% cancel if your holiday insurance will pay out.

Also the OP says it's not a package and the hotel and flights were booked separately, which makes cancellation trickier - as others havesaid, they need to check with the insurance company to see what they'd pay out under what conditions.

Yeah check your policy as harsh as it sounds they will only pay out if you can’t go on holiday not that you won’t enjoy it… a doctor might say she’s not fit to fly but again check the policy as some might not cover everyone cancelling. But if you can cancel, I would and then go away another time

I can absolutely see why you’d want to cancel.

But travel insurance would be highly unlikely to cover it just because she’d be bored/hot etc. Can you try to change the dates instead?

regardless though, you need to contact your insurer whether or not you want to go as it’s now a preexisting condition and they may not insure her now which means they need to pay out…

Have you asked about cast alternatives and where are you traveling? Cast21 is popular in Europe could you get the cast replaced with one of those once you land?

I agree it will be miserable. Unfortunately I also agree insurance may not cover it - all depends on the exact ts and cs.

If insurance won’t cover it, I would find out if there is any chance the travel company would allow you to exchange it for an October holiday instead. Might need to be a different location eg Turkey or Cyprus to get a chance of decent weather. Is it booked with a travel company or independently ?

Sorry j see that’s confusing!
I mean she has a full cast in her arm, so it’s already bent at a right angle, and she can’t bend it further or straighten it.
I think some people imagine an arm cast from wrist to elbow, which could mean she could at least get in and out if pools, play more games etc.
as it’s in a full cast it’s quite hard for her to move around and makes everything a bit more clunky.

I’ll see how she goes these next few days… I’m leaning towards cancelling and re-booking if that would be an option.
but if we can’t then I’m sure we’ll all try and make sure she has a good time. Obviously it won’t be much fun for her.
She is only 8 and she’s already been in tears today because she can’t ride her bike or go on the trampoline. She hasn’t caused a fuss, but I feel so sorry for her

We are an active family and whilst we do have fun, it IS very limiting when she has a full arm cast. She’s not going to have the holiday I hoped for her, and to be honest, neither are DH or I. I’m allowed to be a bit disappointed by that.

Aren't there other not water based activities you can do? Days out etc?