Australian man critical after hit and run in Samui, family told no license invalidates insurance

[rooster59]

Australian man critical after hit and run in Samui, family told no license invalidates insurance

 

 

An Australian tourist is in a critical condition after being involved in a suspected hit and run on Koh Samui.

 

Benjamin French, 36, was on the island to attend a friends wedding when he was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle at around 4am on 28th March. 

 

"It appears that way. He was found at four o'clock in the morning — someone rang to call an ambulance and they turned up there was no-one there so they're finding that very suspicious," his sister Kirsty told ABC News.

 

"He is currently in a coma. He has all his ribs broken, he has punctured lungs, a broken spinal cord in four places, several brain injuries and he has already died twice," she said.

 

Benjamin’s parents are at his bedside and are working with the authorities to try and establish what happened but initial investigations are yet to yield any suspects.

 

Kirsty said the police on Samui had been “absolutely brilliant” in trying to find those responsible.

"Mum said she can't fault anyone. Everyone has been great."

 

The family also revealed that because Benjamin did not have an Australian motorcycle license his insurance company are refusing to pay out.

 

They claim the lack of a license invalidates Benjamin’s insurance policy leaving him with hefty medical bills, which currently stand at more than $20,000 per day.

 

"The hospital bills are about $20,000-plus a day because he is having to have CT scans, he's had a few brain surgeries and he is on life support," Kirsty told ABC News.

 

The family have now set up a Go Fund Me page to raise the funds needed to get Benjamin transferred to a hospital in Perth.

"Once his brain stabilises and the swelling goes down, we can get him back to Perth via Medivac but that is about $100,000," she said.

 

"In 24 hours [it has raised] $47,000. We need to reach about $300,000. There's extensive costs," she said.

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-03-31

[Stoker58]

This is becoming a weekly story.

[petermik]

Another sad story,it looks like the young fellow is going to need a miracle to survive.....best wishes

[transam]

So did the shop rent out a bike to a bloke with no bike license from any country...?

[darksidedog]

It is long overdue for motor bike rental companies to be forced to not rent a vehicle out to any one who does not have a valid licence for the country. There are way too many accidents and way too many people thinking they are insured, then finding out that they are not, leaving someone else to foot the bill.

 

[PoorSucker]

1 minute ago, transam said:

So did the shop rent out a bike to a bloke with no bike license from any country...?

I see tourists every day that never ride before and think it's a good idea to learn on the deadliest roads in the world. 

[maxcorrigan]

Yes another tragic story, seems to me he would be better of dead, but then i am no expert, and it's easy to talk when you have no connections to this unfortunate soul.

[midas]

8 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

They must tell the insurance company that his Thai girlfriend was driving, he was just a passager. 

Insurance company is correct not paying if he was driving without a licence but must pay if he was riding in the back. 

But it doesn't say he was driving without any license? Just that he didn't have a motorcycle license. Do insurance companies refuse to pay out if you have a licence to drive a car in Australia? But then rent a motorbike?

[ThreeEyedRaven]

If he was hit by someone else, then their insurance should be paying, though to drive here without the correct license and ensuring you have valid insurance is definitely a risky and inadvisable thing to do. The roads here are shockingly dangerous even when you have a lot of experience here, which many renters simply do not have.

[hansnl]

18 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

They must tell the insurance company that his Thai girlfriend was driving, he was just a passager. 

Insurance company is correct not paying if he was driving without a licence but must pay if he was riding in the back. 

Insurance companies are always right, and will do anything not to pay.

Clemency is not part of any financial intitute, including banksters and insurance artists.

[PoorSucker]

14 minutes ago, midas said:

But it doesn't say he was driving without any license? Just that he didn't have a motorcycle license. Do insurance companies refuse to pay out if you have a licence to drive a car in Australia? But then rent a motorbike?

Every insurance is void if you don't have proper licence. 

Normal travel insurance does not cover MC driving even if you have licence. 

Only covers if the bike is less than 50cc, check the fine print. 

If you intend to drive a MC in Thailand you actually need an extra insurance for that. 

Only big bikers know this. 

[Just Weird]

10 minutes ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

If he was hit by someone else, then their insurance should be paying, 

Who hit him, then?

[daoyai]

I wonder what % of scooter renters have a valid mc license ?  I guess maybe 10% .... if they refused, big bis loss, also the po po get a nice bonus as they get at least 500 bt. per unlicensed driver at checkpoints.  a win win till ya lose situation.

[anon4637435435]

Ive been saying this for years as do many others. Wheres the license checks? Ive been riding and competing professionally since 8yrs. You learn to see who can ride and who can not. Atleast 99.999999% can not and i gringe watching these people on the road because you know there is a good chance they could cause or be a victim of a herendous accident. If only the government gave a sht about its appearance!!!!!!  Oh wait they do. Thats why they have fancy watches. Silly me....

[PoorSucker]

12 minutes ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

If he was hit by someone else, then their insurance should be paying,

If they find him and if he has insurance. 

[PoorSucker]

2 minutes ago, daoyai said:

I wonder what % of scooter renters have a valid mc license ?  I guess maybe 10% .... if they refused, big bis loss, also the po po get a nice bonus as they get at least 500 bt. per unlicensed driver at checkpoints.  a win win till ya lose situation.

Samui police never ask for licences even at the monthly helmet check.

[ThreeEyedRaven]

4 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Who hit him, then?

I dont know yet, but the article says it is a hit and run. That normally means you have been hit by someone else. Hopefully the cops will find something on CCTV.

[Just Weird]

2 minutes ago, hansnl said:

Insurance companies are always right, and will do anything not to pay.

Clemency is not part of any financial intitute, including banksters and insurance artists.

"Clemency is not part of any financial intitute, including banksters and insurance artists".

Neither should it be!  Insurance is a business and to introduce "clemency" into invalid claims would set a dangerous precedent.

 

"Insurance companies are always right, and will do anything not to pay'.

Nonsense, if that was the case they'd have no business as their reputations would be destroyed.  Insurers do everything that they can to expedite valid claims as it makes next to no financial difference to their bottom line.  It is their right, not to say their obligation, to refuse invalid claims.

[robblok]

21 minutes ago, midas said:

But it doesn't say he was driving without any license? Just that he didn't have a motorcycle license. Do insurance companies refuse to pay out if you have a licence to drive a car in Australia? But then rent a motorbike?

Of course they do as you need a separate license to operate a bike. 

[PoorSucker]

13th year as Samui expat, I'm still alive because I avoid driving after dark. 

[CGW]

1 minute ago, Just Weird said:

"Clemency is not part of any financial intitute, including banksters and insurance artists".

Neither should it be!  Insurance is a business and to introduce "clemency" into invalid claims would set a dangerous precedent.

 

"Insurance companies are always right, and will do anything not to pay'.

Nonsense, if that was the case they'd have no business as their reputations would be destroyed.  Insurers do everything that they can to expedite valid claims as it makes next to no financial difference to their bottom line.  It is their right, not to say their obligation, to refuse invalid claims.

Wow, zero empathy for your fellow human beings, money #1, you fit in well with the world and the wage slaves off today, well done.

[robblok]

1 minute ago, PoorSucker said:

13th year as Samui expat, I'm still alive because I avoid driving after dark. 

I am happy that here in BKK i can safely (relatively) drive my motorbike at night. 

 

Though i once almost got T boned at 4 am (coming back from fishing) and going through a green light. 

[samsensam]

32 minutes ago, transam said:

So did the shop rent out a bike to a bloke with no bike license from any country...?

 

so did the guy rent a bike, in the most dangerous country in the world to ride a motorcycle, without checking he was covered by his travel/medical insurance?

 

hope the guy recovers but ignorance is no defence. it is another example of someone travelling without adequate insurance for the activities they partake in - and then expecting the general public to bail them out.

 

 

[FritsSikkink]

34 minutes ago, transam said:

So did the shop rent out a bike to a bloke with no bike license from any country...?

Yeah why not blame someone else, what happened to you are responsible for your own actions.

Sad for the family.

[Briggsy]

I take it Mum has never been to Thailand before. "The police are brilliant. They couldn't have done more."

 

Really? Is that what they told her?

[FritsSikkink]

29 minutes ago, midas said:

But it doesn't say he was driving without any license? Just that he didn't have a motorcycle license. Do insurance companies refuse to pay out if you have a licence to drive a car in Australia? But then rent a motorbike?

A car license isn't valid to drive a motorcycle.

[midas]

10 minutes ago, robblok said:

Of course they do as you need a separate license to operate a bike. 

Okay just asking I don't know because I would never dream of operating a motorbike and particularly in Thailand.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, CGW said:

Wow, zero empathy for your fellow human beings, money #1, you fit in well with the world and the wage slaves off today, well done.

Can you expand on that...Are you saying an unlicensed guy should be paid out for doing something illegal..?

[PoorSucker]

Just now, midas said:

Okay just asking I don't know because I would never dream of operating a motorbike and particularly in Thailand.

You are a smart man. 

[Just Weird]

7 minutes ago, CGW said:

Wow, zero empathy for your fellow human beings, money #1, you fit in well with the world and the wage slaves off today, well done.

Jesus...

 

Zero empathy (but a little sympathy) for idiots who void  insurance policies by their own stupid actions and then expect someone else to pay for that stupidity, what else could be reasonably expected?

 

Just because someone has life-threatening injuries doesn't mean that everyone should blindly jump to his support and denigrate insurers going about their business correctly.