Couple given £20,000 medical bill after crash on holiday despite having insurance
A couple have told of their outrage after being slapped with a hefty hospital bill in wake of a 'petrifying' moped crash on holiday.
Despite taking out travel insurance, Danielle Davies and Darren Webb claim that they have been told they have to foot the £20,000 fee for their medical treatment.
The pair say they have now been 'put off' flying off to a foreign country for good due to their ongoing ordeal.
Danielle and her boyfriend only got to enjoy a few hours of their dream holiday to Marmaris, Turkey, as they ended up in hospital on the first day of it.
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The couple arrived in the popular resort on 9 September and decided to rent a moped as they thought it would be 'the easiest way' to get around throughout the week.
They went to a restaurant for an evening meal and climbed back onto the bike afterwards - which is the 'last thing' that Danielle, 30, remembers before their horror crash.
She sustained serious injuries during the incident, as did Darren, who was left with a bleed on the brain and broken bones.
"The next thing I knew, I was waking up in hospital surrounded by doctors," Danielle recalled. "It was the most petrifying thing that's ever happened to me in my life.
"There was also a language barrier and I just remember asking, 'Where's Darren?'
"He was in ICU, but I'd had a bang to the head so I didn't really know what was happening. I was crying and everything was a blur. It was very scary, I was basically on my own in a foreign country."
Darren, 34, ended up spending ten days in the Turkish hospital before discharging himself.
He somehow found the strength to spend five and a half days travelling home to Lancashire via coach, as Danielle explained he 'wasn't able to get on a plane without a fit to fly certificate'.
"The doctors in Turkey wanted him to have the operations there, but that would've added another £15,000 to the bill," she continued.
It later emerged that Darren had suffered a punctured lung as well as a broken arm, foot, ribs and jaw.
Meanwhile, Danielle was in 'no fit state' to bring their suitcases back to the UK in wake of the moped accident, so she was forced to leave numerous belongings behind.
After returning home, Danielle was seen by doctors at Royal Preston Hospital, who informed her she had suffered a punctured lung and muscle damage in the crash - injuries which she said are still extremely painful.
The couple, from Morecambe, Lancs, took out travel insurance with the aim of being protected if any unfortunate incident like this was to occur.
However, the pair claim that the company they took it out with - Admiral - has refused to cover the £20,000 bill for their medical treatment in Turkey.
The insurance firm said that the policy taken out by Danielle and Darren did not cover them for crashes involving bikes.
"It's quite scary to think of that £20,000 bill, it's a lot of money," Danielle said. "Before I went on holiday, I was saving for a house. I'd saved enough money for a deposit, but I've had to use it to help Darren get home.
"The experience has put me off going on holiday again - you just don't expect something like this to happen."
The couple have launched a fundraiser to help cover the medical bills and other unexpected costs.
A spokesperson for Admiral said they understood the pair were injured after riding the moped without the correct licence and training while Darren was under the influence of alcohol - although Danielle said blood tests confirmed he was under the legal limit.
The statement said the company was sorry to hear about the situation, but the claim had been assessed using witness accounts, photographs from the scene, police reports and investigator insights.
They added that Danielle was was not wearing a helmet, which she confirmed. However, she added that this was not provided by the hire company.
The spokesperson added: "The claim wasn’t covered because Mr Webb and Miss Davies knowingly undertook this risky activity whilst Mr Webb was intoxicated, and it was foreseeable that doing so would result in serious injury."
Olivia Burke