Getting An Injured Man Home

Shazza193

Hi all,

My ex husband is in hospital in Goa after breaking his back in January. His travel insurance did not cover him for the nature of his accident - does anyone know how I can find a flight back to England for him with stretcher access,(maybe even business class with hefty reclining seats?) wheelchair assistance etc - I get no joy from travel companies here in England as they don't have the license to sell single fares from Goa - any phone numbers, advice etc more than welcome, or advice on another thread to post to? The long route home via Bombay etc does not sound like it's much of an option at the moment given his condition, but funds are running low and he would like to come back home as soon as..........
Many thanks in advance :-)

capt_mahajan

You need to get in touch with the airlines directly. I don't know much about charter flights (they may be more willing to do this in the present recession, probably), but I do know 'normal' scheduled airlines will take a stretcher bound passenger, even if it means removing an adjacent seat or two for the trip- I once sent a crewmember back to India after he shattered his hip in Indonesia this way, via Singapore.

In your place, I would call the airline (Indian, international or charter) offices in the UK directly and talk to them.

Likely to be expensive, though.


The best of luck with this.

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Outside the machine

Haylo

I was surprised to hear that, certainly European airlines get very concerned about liability when carrying people who are less than fit, they even refuse to transport women who are heavily pregnant! However, if an airline can be persuaded, it would be very good news for you.

Shazza, even though the insurance you have does not cover this accident, are the insurance company not even prepared to give you the name of an airline they would use for this purpose?

Note: (not for the OP, who has learned the hard way and who I'm sure does not need or want to hear this)
Getting travel insurance which covers your likely activities is VERY important and does not have to be expensive. For UK members, travelinsuranceweb recently covered me for less than £30 for a month long trip to India which included cover for activities such as rock climbing and riding various animals.

Insurance companies WILL deny responsibility for accidents which are not covered by the policy, but where the policy does provide cover they not only pay the bills, but also make all the necesssary arrangements for you. A close friend of mine was killed abroad by a drunk driver, and his girlfriend who was seriously injured in the same accident would not have known how on earth to go about getting his body brought home for burial, and was very grateful for the help and support provided by their insurance company.

I wish the OP the very best of luck in getting this sorted.

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Shazza193

Thank you both for your kind replies, at least i now have two other avenues to follow - just for info, and I agree, a good warning - the insurance default was due to a motorbike being over 125cc and therefore classified as a dangerous sport - not planning on rock climbing etc, he declined dangerous sports cover.

edwardseco

Don't deal with a charter agency. Ordinary travel agencies certainly will deal with a one way fare. But, as mentioned above its the airlines that will be the challenge due to the liability..

capt_mahajan

To be honest, I do not know how this was arranged or what it cost(between the Indonesian agents, the insurance and the Singapore office, I was not involved), but two different airlines removed a seat each on their scheduled flights to make space.

Boston123

We flew back a relative from Bangalore to the US, who was wheel chair bound , on British Airways.This involved a flight change in Heathrow. Best if you buy a business class ticket. Understand that business class cabins are flying with many empty seats now a days( esp midweek), so perhaps BA can arrange for a vacant seat next to him.
The other issue is patient care during the flight.Our relative needed a colostomy bag to be changed, and BA insisted that a Registered Nurse fly with the person... now we are up to 2 business class tickets. Fortunately, we managed to get this as well.

Alternately, many companies with private jets, are known to transport patients, if there is space on board during one of their trips. I would check and see if the TATA's or Reliance, or one of the bigger business houses with private jets, could help you.. Not sure how I would approach them, though??

SueJ

If he could possibly manage to make the trip in two parts, I'd try to get him to Mumbai or Bangalore and then take British Airways back from there. They might get knocked on a regular basis, but are superb around handling this type of thing.

If he needed to overnight, I'd choose Mumbai. If he didn't need to overnight, I'd go for Bangalore - it's a long way out of town, which is why I don't think it would work if you have to overnight, but it's a nice modern airport to hang around. But the BA flight goes out first thing in the morning, so that may not work.

If he's not stretcher bound, then business class is the best on BA. The seats are wider than 1st class, and you can lie down totally flat, with plenty of room. Try to book one of the middle section seats away from the aisle for best peace and quiet.

If he is travelling on a stretcher I think BA insist on medical staff to accompany him, but not 100% sure of this. If he could possibly go on foot with wheelchair assistance, it would be best, but he'd need a letter from his doctor confirming that he is fit to travel.

Good luck, fingers crossed you get sorted soon.