Tegan Larin, 24, and her sister Rahni, 27, were on holiday in Phuket when the speedboat (belonging to local company Andawaree Co Ltd) in which they were travelling was hit by strong waves on January 30, throwing the tourists up to one metre high in the air.
Both suffered back injuries and were taken to Phuket International Hospital, where they stayed until they were well enough to return to Australia.
But in the time since the sisters returned home, they have faced hospital bills amounting to hundreds of Australian dollars. Both sisters had travel insurance with Australian company AAMI while in Phuket, but this does not cover any medical care when they are in Australia.
The company initially covered some care for the girls while they were in hospital, but say the speedboat driver was not at fault, and the incident was simply “an accident”.
Rahni told The Phuket News both her and Tegan visited a doctor upon their return home.
“I had to get more X-rays done at a cost of A$160,” Rhani said. “We went to see the back specialist on Tuesday. Our appointments cost A$220 each.”
“I have another appointment with the doctor in four weeks. That will cost another A$220. Tegan has another appointment in six weeks. That will also cost another A$220.
“After our follow up appointments, if the doctor says we can remove our braces we will need to undergo several sessions of physiotherapy. Again, this will be at our own cost and we will be looking at paying upward of A$100 per hour,” Rahni said.
“As we cannot work, we are starting to run out of money. The financial strain is hard. Our braces, which cost A$350 each, need to be paid for in seven days.
“We feel angry that no one is taking responsibility for this. We feel that the boat shouldn’t have taken us out in windy conditions, that the tour leader should not have encouraged us to sit up the front and also that the driver should have slowed down and driven more carefully.
“If the driver had used some common sense we would not be in this terrible situation.
“We feel the boat company should continue to pay for our medical costs as long as they are caused by the accident that happened while on their boat. Tegan also hit her face and had to get an X-ray of her mouth. She will need to see a dentist to read the X-ray for her which will cost upward of A$200.
“The expenses just keep coming and soon we won’t be able to pay them.
“The boat company was quoted on numerous occasions saying that they will cover all of the victims costs. Well, why aren’t they? Our costs are not being covered.
“I emailed Andawaree and asked if they would be willing to pay for our medical bills. I have not received a reply, though that was a week ago.
“This situation is just terrible for everyone involved. The boat company should take some responsibility instead of just putting the incident down to ‘force majeure’.
“Maybe it was a freak accident, but it was a freak accident that could almost have definitely been avoided.”
There are also issues surrounding the back braces the sisters wore while in Phuket International Hospital.
“My brace was not the right type and it actually finished where the fracture started. Therefore it was doing nothing.
“Tegan’s brace was far too small for her and it fitted incorrectly. When we went to get our new braces, the brace people could not reuse the brace she was given in Thailand as it was ridiculously small for her body.
“So for the first two weeks of our injuries, when most of the healing is done, our fractures were unsupported. It is unclear, though possible, that Tegan’s ill fitting brace caused her spine to become fractured in a third place. Tegan was told in the [Phuket] hospital that she had two fractures, but the doctor here told her she has three fractures.”
A spokesperson from Phuket International Hospital said she would try and contact the doctor in charge of the case to explain the situation.
Both women now have to wear tight-fitting, uncomfortable metal braces at all times, except for when they sleep. They even have to wear them in the shower.
Rahni has also been experiencing severe back pain while she’s sleeping.
Both women cannot study or work for the four to six weeks they need to wear their braces. Rahni works in childcare, and cannot work because she is unable to lift the children.
Both are also unable to drive, which means they cannot attend university, and have been advised they don’t lift more than two kilos at a time. The doctor also recommends they lie down as much as possible, as sitting will cause the most strain on their spines.
“We cannot really leave the house without being in great discomfort so we mostly just have to lay around the house. My mother has taken sick leave off work to look after us, as we need help doing many things.
“We are staying at our parents house so they can care for us.
Rahni said American tourist Maria Genetti was also still suffering following the speedboat incident.
In an email to the Australian sisters, Maria wrote that she was told she had two infections. After 14 days on antibiotics to fight the infection, there is still no progress.
“Doctor says that I must have landed so hard, that I gave myself a deep haematoma and it has gotten infected way deep under the skin. I had a lot of redness and fluid build-up.
“He said he wanted to slice me open (about as big as my last stitches, but about an inch away) and drain it.”
Tests were done to find out the type of bacteria and will be returned in several days. Doctors believe it might be a staphylococcus infection.
“My family wants me to fly home tomorrow. I am facing the dilemma that my travel medical insurance is covered only outside of the US. I don't fully trust doctors in Asia. I just don't know what to do. I have been crying off and on all day...”
The last time The Phuket News spoke to Omduan Pichetpongsanon, co-owner of Andawaree, she said the company’s insurance only covered treatment, medicine and the stay in the hospital.
The back brace was not covered in the insurance as it was considered “extra”.
Today (February 14), Mrs Omduan told The Phuket News she had already spoken to the sisters when they were in Phuket and they agreed that the company’s insurance would only pay for treatment and medicine.
“They accepted the deal and asked for a confirmation letter from the company, which said they were in an accident. They would use this letter to claim from their own travel insurance company.
“If they asked me for extra compensation I would have paid it to them,” she said.
However Mrs Omduan admits there may have been miscommunication and language barriers.
Rahni said payment had only become an issue because now they were back in Australia, their insurance company won’t pay, so they wanted Andawaree to.