Australian grandfather is left stranded in Canada after his travel insurance REFUSED to cover his hospital or flight costs due to a loophole
- Australian grandfather suffered devastating head injury while he was in Canada
- Phil Nelson, 65, and his wife Morag rushed to Canada to be by their son’s side
- On of their sons had been in a serious car accident and was on life-support
- After suffering the head injury they were informed insurance did not cover it
An Australian grandfather is stranded in Canada after getting seriously injured in a fall – and his travel insurance company is refusing to cover the costs.
Perth man Phil Nelson, 65, and his wife Morag flew to Calgary in July after their son Karl was involved in a serious traffic accident that left him on life-support.
However on October 11, Mr Nelson himself also suffered as a result of an accident when he fell down a flight of stairs.
Australian grandfather Phil Nelson (pictured) is stranded in Canada after getting seriously injured in a fall before a technicality meant he would not be covered by travel insurance
Mr Nelson was stabilised in hospital before being airlifted to Calgary, where he was in intensive care for 10 days.
Shortly afterwards he was moved to the trauma ward.
In the rush to be by their son’s side they opted for multi-trip insurance, designed for people who intend on travelling more than once a year.
However the pair were told their hospital costs, $25,000 a day, would not be covered because they had not returned to Australia within 30 days, a requirement for their insurance.
The family was also informed the cost of a flight back to Australia would not be covered.
Mrs Nelson told Nine News the family were left devastated when they received the news.
‘It just, it shattered me, I was angry, I cried and I thought how on earth are we going to do this, we’re going to lose everything we worked so hard for,’ she said.
Perth man Phil Nelson (left), 65, and his wife Morag (right) flew to Canada in July after their son Karl was involved in a serious traffic accident that left him on life-support
Despite the insurer’s refusal Mrs Nelson said they consider themselves lucky that her husband had survived the fall at all.
‘It was quite a low survival rate so we’re very, very lucky to still have him, he is in there somewhere, but I don’t know if we’ll ever get Phil back,’ she said.
In a desperate attempt to get Mr Nelson home his family have set up a GoFundMe page with the hopes it can help them cover the massive costs.
So far the page has raised $71,000 of the $100,000 target.
The family estimates the full cost of hospital bills and getting Mr Nelson home could exceed half a million dollars.
The family have set up a GoFundMe page with the hopes it can help them cover the massive costs as Mr Nelson remains in the trauma ward (pictured)