The shattered husband of an Australian woman battling a severe brain injury in Thailand claims their travel insurance firm’s allegation she was ‘too drunk’ to be covered is false.
Kylee Enwright, 48, has been fighting for life in a coma since May 28 after she slipped and fell on the second day of their holiday in Khao Lak, in the south of the country.
Insurer Cover-More claims Mrs Enwright’s injury was caused by her excessive drinking, even though her blood alcohol level was never tested in hospital.
Instead, the company used the couple’s bar tab and estimated Mrs Enwright’s bodyweight to calculate a blood alcohol level of 0.35 at the time of her fall – more than seven times Australia’s legal driving the limit.
The couple’s bar tab shows they’d paid for nine Long Island Ice Teas and 14 beers but her husband, Paul Enwright, claims the tab had been left open when he heard his wife had been hurt and believes other guests added their drinks onto the bill.
Paul Enwright said travel insurance Cover-More is refusing to cover his wife Kylee’s (pictured together above) severe brain injury after finding she was ‘too drunk’ at the time of her fall
The couple had been enjoying drinks at their resort’s pool bar when she left to use the bathroom and seemingly mistook a balcony ledge for a set of stairs.
The grandmother fell half a metre onto concrete, landing face first, and was left bleeding from the head and ears.
She was rushed to a hospital in nearby Phuket where Mr Enwright was told he’d need to pay $20,000 upfront for life-saving brain surgery. He could only pay $13,000.
Mrs Enwright’s hospital bill has already surpassed $50,000 with the family told they will need to pay another $200,000 on top of that for a medical evacuation back to Australia.
The couple thought the horrific incident would be covered by Cover-More, but a fine-print loophole has left them to front the bills themselves.
‘I think we’d be a dribbling mess (if we had the amount on the bar tab). I don’t think she’d drunk excessively enough to not be able to walk properly,’ Mr Enwright told A Current Affair on Thursday.
‘Otherwise, as a husband, I would’ve walked her (to the bathroom) and helped her there.’
Mrs Enwright (pictured in hospital) seemingly mistook a balcony ledge for a set of stairs and fell half a metre, landing on her face and causing a brain injury
Mrd Enwright’s (above) medical nill has already passed $50,000 with an emergency evacuation flight back to Australia set to cost another $200,000
Mr Enwright claims the insurer’s finding is just an excuse to avoid paying his wife’s massive medical bill.
‘I think they’ve always had it in their minds, from the get go, to find a way out of this policy,’ he said.
However, the insurer said it came to the conclusion Mrs Enwright was over its coverable limit, 0.19, after looking carefully at the evidence it gathered.
‘Cover-More is fair and reasonable in our claims processes and we make our decisions after thoroughly assessing all available details and medical information,’ Cover-More said in a statement to 7News on Thursday.
‘We gave Kylee’s husband, Paul, a detailed and transparent explanation for declining this claim.
‘This is a sad case and we will continue to offer Paul and Kylee and their families all the non-financial assistance Cover-More can.
‘This includes help with arranging repatriation to Australia, assisting with hospital admissions and a ground ambulance in Australia, travel arrangements and making appointments with local medical practitioners overseas or in Australia.’
The couple, who come from Singleton in NSW’s Hunter region, have started a GoFundMe to help cover the medical bill which is growing by $5,000 each day.
Mr Enwright said they decided to holiday to Thailand after their small pest control business barely survived Covid.
Cover-More said it used a ‘fair and reasonable’ process to find Mrs Enwright had drunk too much to be covered at the time of her fall (above)
Mr Enwright (pictured with his wife) said the couple thought they’d ‘done everything right’ be insuring their trip and is devastated Cover-More won’t cover Mrs Enwright’s medical bill
‘Like most Australians, we took up travel insurance at the level of coverage that we thought was going to be adequate. We thought we’d done everything right,’ Mr Enwright told 7News.
‘She can move her left arm and left leg. She can squeeze your hand. She hasn’t moved her right side very much and they’re a bit concerned that she’s not more alert by now.
‘We need to get her back to Australia and back in the Australian medical system, where I think she can get the best care.’
The couple’s three adult children have all travelled to Thailand to be with their mother.
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