British woman given ibuprofen for broken back and forced to pay £30k after insurance company refuses

The household of a British woman are dealing with a £30,000 invoice after their daughter was significantly injured in Central America.

Amie Coltman, 24, was travelling in a tuk-tuk whereas on vacation in Nicaragua when she was thrown into the street and crushed her backbone. Regardless of the car being a generally used mode of transport, her insurance company refused to pay her mounting medical payments following the accident earlier this month.

Including to her ordeal, when Ms Coltman was rushed to a medical clinic she says she was solely given painkillers by an area physician regardless of breaking her back in two locations.

Talking to The Impartial, her sister Zoe mentioned Ms Coltman had travelled to Costa Rica to work with an animal conservation volunteer group for seven weeks, having studied the subject for her Masters at Nottingham Trent College.

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On the conclusion of the course, she travelled with an organised guided group down to Nicaragua. Through the night of 19 August, she and a bunch of others travelled into the close by village earlier than travelling back in a pick-up model car.

“They had been within the taxi which hit a pothole at some velocity so everybody went flying out of the back,” her sister mentioned. “One among Amie’s pals landed on high of her which crushed a part of her backbone and left her in a variety of ache and shock.”

Upon realising the severity of the scenario, she was rushed to an area clinic which was not geared up with an MRI machine or a CT scan. Regardless of receiving an X-ray, a physician knowledgeable her she was “completely fantastic” and supplied her with solely ibuprofen and paracetamol earlier than she was discharged.

Her situation worsened in a single day and the tour information company determined to transport her to Clinica Biblica in Costa Rica.

A second X-ray revealed that she had broken her backbone, with the docs informing her that she would wish quick surgical procedure however it might price £15,000.

She would even be charged £1,000 for every night time she remained on the hospital, in addition to funds for the surgical procedure tools and 4 weeks of physiotherapy.

“Thirty thousand kilos was the total quantity they wanted right away,” her sister mentioned/ “They wanted it upfront, they wouldn’t do the surgical procedure with out the cash. The insurance company rang the hospital right away and mentioned we’re having nothing to do with this. They mentioned that the automobile wasn’t secure because it had no seatbelts.

“When that’s the one mode of transport out there, you simply don’t suppose that you simply’re not going to be coated.”

With the hospital demanding the cash, Ms Coltman’s household turned to relations and pals and managed to pull collectively £17,000 for the primary cost. After confirming they’d the funds, her mom was despatched an e-mail instructing that she make the cost inside 20 minutes.

“For the primary two days, there have been a variety of telephone calls with Amie crying, nervous, scared,not realizing what to do or realizing how dangerous it was,” Zoe mentioned. “She was fairly pressured at occasions into making choices when she didn’t know what to do.”

Ms Coltman has since undergone the surgical procedure and two steel rods have been positioned in her back to assist her backbone, together with her father becoming a member of her in Costa Rica to help within the coming weeks.

Her household have now launched a GoFundMe to cowl her therapy and the extra bills she’ll accrue whereas present process rehabilitation.

“I simply don’t perceive how anybody is supposed to afford these medical charges at such brief discover,” Zoe mentioned. “The huge assist from everybody has been superb, it’s loopy how individuals pull by at these occasions particularly throughout the price of residing disaster.”

The insurance company has been contacted for remark.