Brit on life support machine in Tenerife hospital after fall

[Zara]

A Widnes, man is in intensive care in Tenerife after falling while on his stag weekend and suffering head injuries. The 28-year-old Mark Shephard is now on a life-support machine and doctors say it could be months before he makes a recovery.

Friends of his family are trying to raise funds so that his parents can stay with him while he remains in hospital: Gill Baterton said “his family obviously want to stay with him but are suffering serious financial problems in trying to do this. As friends we are trying to alleviate some of their problems by trying to raise funds to help them at this very difficult time and enable them to concentrate on their son.”

BBC

[sunspot]

Thats very sad news Zara,im sure we are all willing him to make a good recovery

[CIM]

The story is also reported here and there is a contact email for the family who are having financial difficulties trying to remain in Tenerife at his bedside.
http://www.runcornandwidnesworld.co.uk/news/9070210.Breaking_news__Bridegroom__28__in_coma/

[cainaries]

I know I'm going to make myself very unpopular for asking this ... but ... insurance? Would travel insurance not cover either his being repatriated to the UK or a family member coming out to be with him? Ghastly for the family, of course, but has this not been looked into?

[TenerifeFanatic]

Insurance apart, a very, very sad situation for all involved.

[with cheese]

Sad but the family need to raise their own funds etc to begin with. It's a bit bad when a family immediately responds by saying they have financial difficulties.
If this happened on my Manor, we would all rally round with events, no matter how poor or rich.

[cainaries]

It's just that insurance would cover most of these costs that the family is - apparently - expecting other people to pay because their son didn't take out insurance. Could easily be they didn't know he hadn't done it, etc. etc. Are they sure he didn't take out insurance? What about all the other people on the stag weekend - don't they know? Didn't they? Who arranged it without insurance? How do you book a flight without travel insurance? Usually there is a box to tick saying 'yes, I have travel insurance' ... my point is that this should be checked out before asking for a handout. Maybe he does have insurance? Hope so or who is paying for the medical treatment?