Unable to travel due to illness - Hospitalised - Where do I stand?

namiku

giraffe69 wrote: »

But it has lots to do with how annoying and awkward the fall out is. Your choice was to save the insurance cost i.e. it was a gamble and unluckily did not pay off. Good luck with pursuing BA.

It wasn't that at all actually. There's no adequate insurance cover where my in-laws currently reside unfortunately. Generally, the law, is disregarded in that country.

isplumm

namiku wrote: »

Of course, you could make a case for everything because nothing is set in stone and generally the terms and conditions for anything tend to be a grey area, but I would say that they would fight "traffic" cases much more and be less inclined to pay out rather then stronger cases like serious illness or death.

Ok - then I suggest that you call the lawyers mentioned in my previous email - see what they say ...

also if you are speaking to ba - put everything in writing.

Mark

Tojo_Ralph

Tojo_Ralph wrote: »

BA define Events beyond your control as "unusual and unforeseeable circumstances which you cannot control and the consequences of which you could not have avoided even if you had taken all due care.

namiku wrote: »

Appendicitis is one of the most unusual, unforeseen and unpredicted illnesses and there is no possible care that can be taken to prevent it.

IMHO the nature of the illness is of no consequence in the context of British Airways terms and conditions as the event that has occured is illness and it would be a hard call to argue illness in a person was unusual.

As for appendicitis being unusual, it would appear that it is the most common reason UK citizens are admitted to hospital for emergency abdominal surgery.

That said however, as nobody here appears to be giving you the answer you are looking for you are possibly best to present your argument to the airline in question where your FF status may carry some weight.

dzug1

namiku wrote: »

Insurance has nothing to do with the event and the care that can be taken, because even if you had insurance you still won't be able to travel. Appendicitis is one of the most unusual, unforeseen and unpredicted illnesses and there is no possible care that can be taken to prevent it.
.

That's not the point though - agreed you still won't be able to travel but having insurance mitigates the unfavourable financial consequences of not being able to travel. You haven't taken out insurance so you haven't taken all due care to mitigate the consequences of an unforeseen illness.

Though in this case there look to have been issues with getting insurance which muddies the water.

namiku

Tojo_Ralph wrote: »

IMHO the nature of the illness is of no consequence in the context of British Airways terms and conditions as the event that has occured is illness and it would be a hard call to argue illness in a person was unusual.

As for appendicitis being unusual, it would appear that it is the most common reason UK citizens are admitted to hospital for emergency abdominal surgery.

That said however, as nobody here appears to be giving you the answer you are looking for you are possibly best to present your argument to the airline in question where your FF status may carry some weight.

While it may be the most common, it is also the most unusual because firstly it does not happen to everyone, and secondly it can happen at any given time. There is no way to plan for it or prevent it. Therefore it is unusual and very unexpected and most definitely beyond anyone's control.

I have written to the airline since the day I spoke with their customer service and there is a complaint under way and in investigation. Just wanted to get some opinions on where do I stand or experiences of other people.

dzug1 wrote: »

That's not the point though - agreed you still won't be able to travel but having insurance mitigates the unfavourable financial consequences of not being able to travel. You haven't taken out insurance so you haven't taken all due care to mitigate the consequences of an unforeseen illness.

Though in this case there look to have been issues with getting insurance which muddies the water.

Well I believe it kind of is the point, because in no way will insurance enable you to travel, and since the the whole point of clause 3e of the GOC is events that prevent travel, then insurance becomes irrelevant.

---

Thanks for your replies and help everyone. I will keep you updated.

So far I've just had to contact my in-laws and asked them to fax a letter over to BA to confirm that they allow me to make the complaint on their behalf.

ian41

While I have sympathy for the OP, I would be very surprised if BA bothers to listen.

As travellers we all have choices e.g. to buy a fully-refundable or non-refundable ticket. The former is considerably more expensive than the latter. If you bought the latter, then BA has no legal obligation other than to refund any taxes on the unused ticket.

I would also suggest that you are being disingenuous with your comments re Travel Insurance. The reason for buying it, is to give you protection if things go wrong - such as unexpected emergencies. IMO anyone who travels should buy an appropriate travel insurance policy - it is an essential cost of travel today, not just an option.

If you bought a non-refundable ticket for your father-in-law from BA but failed to buy Travel Insurance, I am sorry but you cut too many corners and will probably suffer the consequences by losing money.

Ladyshopper

Why do so many people choose not to buy travel insurance, then act suprised when things like this happen?

tamiami

Again, someone who didn't buy travel insurance and then blames the airline or travel company for not giving them their money back!! The whole point of travel insurance is for situations like this.

_Andy_

Ladyshopper wrote: »

Why do so many people choose not to buy travel insurance, then act suprised when things like this happen?

Moneysaving innit

Tojo_Ralph

Ladyshopper wrote: »

Why do so many people choose not to buy travel insurance, then act suprised when things like this happen?

tamiami wrote: »

Again, someone who didn't buy travel insurance and then blames the airline or travel company for not giving them their money back!!

To be fair to the OP, they have stated (rightly or wrongly) that adequate travel insurance was/is not available in their parents country of residence.