Irishman James Burke’s dream holiday in Thailand turned tragic after a mosquito bite led to a rare disease. Hospitalised with sepsis, kidney failure, and more, his family faces a staggering ฿6.6 million bill.
Yet another horror story concerning an international visitor to Thailand and the costs of emergency medical care. The latest is the story of Irishman James Burke whose family have been hit with a ฿6.6 million bill. That is the cost to save his life in hospital and return him securely to Ireland. The Limerick man contracted severe medical conditions from a mosquito bite. It is another story of a dream Thai holiday turned into a nightmare. Families with savings exhausted desperately turn to the media for help worldwide. Thus, these events continue to tarnish the country’s image as a tourist destination.
In a dreadful turn of events, 36-year-old James Burke from Limerick, Ireland, finds himself in intensive care in Thailand after contracting a rare disease. The Irish man suffered a mosquito bite during his holiday. The insect carried the deadly Dengue viral infection. The incident has left him battling sepsis, kidney failure, pneumonia, and a brain haemorrhage.
James, due to return on November 19, was in good spirits as he sent a video message from a taxi en route to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. He was on his way home after a memorable holiday in Thailand.
Burke never reached the airport departures hall after sending a video to his family in Ireland cheering his return home from a dream holiday in Thailand
However, he never reached his destination, prompting concern from his family. Unable to contact him, they eventually located him with the help of Thai friends and hotel staff.
The family discovered James critically ill in hospital, necessitating intubation due to respiratory failure.
He had contracted an unusual form of dengue fever, leading to severe complications, including acute kidney failure, sepsis, pneumonia, and a brain bleed, coupled with a severe neck injury.
James’s sister, Margaret Creed, revealed the challenging situation, stating, ‘It was touch and go there for James. He’s still in the ICU in the hospital. His medical condition has improved somewhat but he’s still being tube fed, he’s immobile, very confused and disorientated.’
Family’s sky-high daily bill from the hospital as worried relatives spend life savings suffering the refusal of an insurance firm to accept liability
The family describes James as ‘a character’ and the youngest of nine siblings, cherished by his mother. ‘He’d do anything for anyone. He’s very kind-natured,’ Margaret added while being interviewed on The Opinion Line on 96FM in Ireland this week.
However, financial distress compounds the family’s ordeal, with daily hospital costs of €2,700. Margaret spoke of the anxiety for the family with daily emails from the private Thai hospital with a payment link to continue their loved one’s treatment.
Soon the extended family’s savings dried up and the bills just kept coming. At the same time, worrying about the Irish man’s health, there were problems communicating with staff and doctors at the Bangkok hospital. Calls were put through at 2 am Irish time every day.
Moreover, Mr Burke’s travel insurance company refused liability. At length, it argued the incident occurred post-scheduled return. This left the Irish family struggling.
Bill of €176,000 or ฿6.6 million to get Irish man home from holiday nightmare after deadly mosquito bite threatened his life and left him in intensive care
Desperate to repatriate James before Christmas, the family faces a daunting €176,000 expense. That’s ฿6.6 million.
This includes hiring an air ambulance with medical staff to bring the loved Irish man back home for treatment in an Irish hospital.
The case is the second high-profile news story this week linked with foreign tourists having problems with paying emergency medical fees billed by Thai hospitals. Certainly, an earlier story of a Taiwanese tourist had a sad ending
The story of Mr Chen, a road traffic accident victim. It had an unfortunate outcome when the man was pronounced dead. This was shortly after being refused admission to the emergency ward of a private hospital in Bangkok on financial grounds.
Tragic death of a Taiwanese tourist is another wake-up call for the government regarding insurance cover
Tourism boss calls for special state body to manage the new foreign tourism levy postponed yet again
66-year-old Thai woman highlights Thailand’s official tiered pricing in hospitals for foreigners
The latest press coverage and stories like these do irreparable harm to Thailand’s image abroad. This has led to calls for the government to speedily implement its proposed foreign tourism levy with automatic insurance coverage for all foreign tourists.
Significant issues raised by huge medical costs for Irish family. The overall cost of emergency medical treatment and the provision of an air ambulance
However, the Irish man’s story poses other significant issues.
The scale of the medical costs at €2,700 or ฿100,000 per day is eye-watering. The purpose of any automatic medical insurance coverage is to prevent occurrences like this.
This would not be the case here.
At any rate, it would not be long dwarfing the proposed ฿500,000 limit put forward by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. This is the extent of the currently proposed automatic insurance cover.
Additionally, the government plan specifically excludes the cost of an air ambulance to repatriate any injured foreign tourist.
In response to the appeal from the Irish man’s family, the reaction has been heartrending. The GoFundMe campaign is well on the way to achieving its €100,000 target, with nearly €70,000 raised from 2,900 donors.
Irish radio show raised the tourist’s horror story
Despite the adversity, the family remains hopeful, seeking support for James’s repatriation and recovery.
Previously, speaking on the leading Cork radio station 96FM in Ireland with top radio host PJ Coogan, Ms Creed hinted that there may be more to the story of what happened to Burke before he ended up in the ICU ward of the Bangkok hospital.
‘Something happened to him; we don’t know all the details,’ his sister Margaret Creed told the host and the supportive Irish radio audience.
The family are hoping to bring James back to Ireland for Christmas.
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Further reading:
Tragic death of a Taiwanese tourist is another wake-up call for the government on insurance cover
66-year-old Thai woman highlights Thailand’s official tiered pricing in hospitals for foreigners
Tourism fee fund to be fast-tracked after payouts to families in mass shooting
Negative reaction and horror at Thailand’s plan to charge foreigners more than locals at hotels
Thailand could introduce tourist tax or levy next year as expert group begins to examine plans
UK man stranded in Thailand facing a £100,000 medical bill
Battlefield friends help UK man and wife escape medical bill of £12k in Thailand. Now safely home
