UK family faces £20,000 plus bill after son taken ill on Paris trip

A fundraising campaign is aiming to raise money to help a British mother who says she faces a bill of between £20,000 and £40,000 after her son fell ill during a trip to France.

Leo Tomkinson suffered a stroke while visiting Disneyland Paris to celebrate his 18th birthday with his mother Jodie Ankrett, sister and grandmother, according to a Go Fund Me fundraising campaign set up by family friend Angela Martin.

He was rushed to intensive care at a nearby hospital during the trip, on February 12, after his mother found him unresponsive in his hotel room.

“He had had a stroke. They had to put him on a life support machine and make him comfortable,” Ms Ankrett told the Stoke Sentinel.

“He still can’t walk or talk, he still can’t say hello. They couldn’t tell me how long it’s going to take for him to recover. I’ve got the stress of not knowing how much the medical bills are going to be”.”

Leo, from Walsall, was brought back to the UK on February 28 by private ambulance and needed a nurse to accompany him.

Despite having travel insurance, Ms Ankrett has been unable to claim back the hospital and travel costs because she did not declare her son’s pre-existing conditions, including muscular dystrophy.

She is expecting medical and travel bills to come to between £20,000 and £40,000.

The fundraising campaign to help cover costs has raised over £5,400.

In an update to the fundraising page on March 15, family friend Ms Martin said Leo “can smile on one side” and “is becoming a lot more vocal, though he still cannot speak recognisable words”.

The family “hope he continues to get stronger and more able to do things day by day,” she added.

We note that usually, UK travellers to France are advised to carry a ‘Ghic’ - the UK equivalent of France’s Carte européene d’assurance maladie - which entitles them to claim up to the usual amount of French state healthcare cover for necessary medical expenses.

This would usually include most of the costs of hospital care, most of which would not be payable upfront in a French public hospital on presentation of a Ghic/Ehic card. People travelling without a Ghic can also seek a refund on return to the UK with proof of the costs incurred.

However the Ghic system does not include costs incurred for transport to get back home to the UK, and the UK government recommends travellers take private travel insurance including such elements.

Is it the norm for insurers not to cover these kinds of cases?

“It’s absolutely vital you disclose all medical conditions from the preceding 12-18 months,” a spokesperson for the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) told The Connexion.

“All travel insurers will ask for disclosure of all pre-existing medical conditions as a matter of course. There will be terms and conditions in the policy that say we’ll not pay a claim if there has been an undisclosed medical condition.

“The insurers would have taken the condition into account when pricing the risk.”

Whether or not an insurer will refuse to pay based on an undisclosed medical condition, even if the accident or illness is unrelated to that condition, depends on the wording of the individual insurance policy.

What can travellers do in a similar situation?

Travellers who might be in a similar situation are advised to always contact their insurer to see if there is anything that can be done.

“The only thing I can suggest is that she goes to the insurer concerned and asks to discuss it with them to see if there is any chance that they will support her in some way,” the BIBA spokesperson said.

This kind of support, if offered, would not be contractual, but is sometimes offered under certain circumstances.

Advice for travellers

It is always advisable to discuss pre-existing medical conditions with your insurer, no matter how small you think they are.

“You might think they are very inconsequential but it’s far better to discuss them with your insurer than to face this sort of situation,” said the BIBA spokesperson.

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