Mother not wearing a helmet suffers traumatic injuries when she is hit while riding a motorbike in Bali – as her family claim the hospital is charging thousands of dollars a day to treat her
- A mother visiting her son has been hospitalised after a motorbike crash in Bali
- Cara Geiger was not wearing a helmet when she was hit by a van head-on
- Her family claim the hospital has been charging them every few hours
- Daughter-in-law Samantha believes treatment could stop if the money isn’t paid
A mother who travelled to Bali to visit her son is now in a serious condition in hospital after she was hit by a van while riding her motorbike to dinner on Saturday.
Cara Geiger was due to leave Bali on Monday, but will spend at least two more weeks in a hospital bed in Kuta, suffering serious fractures to her spine and breaks to her skull.
The 57-year-old woman was riding a motorbike without a helmet when she had a head-on collision with a van on a blind corner.
As Ms Geiger fell to the ground, two Australians dashed over to help and stayed by her side until her son, John Lund, and daughter-in-law Samantha James could get to her.
Ms James said the accident is an unfortunate reminder of how important it is to wear a helmet.
Medical care for Ms Geiger is expected to exceed AU$50,000 – and Ms James says the hospital is demanding money from the family every few hours to continue treatment.
Cara Ventura Geiger’s Bali holiday took a turn for the worse when she was hit head on by a van while turning a corner on her motorbike (pictured is Ms Geiger on the day of the crash)
The Washington woman suffered a bad fracture to her spine at the small of her back, and several bad breaks to her nose and jaw
Ms James told Daily Mail Australia Ms Geiger hit the van head on, before hitting the hood of the vehicle and falling off her bike.
‘She fractured her back and face in the process and bled profusely,’ she said.
Her daughter-in-law Samantha (pictured) says the family are being charged ‘every few hours’ for Ms Geiger’s medical care and that it has been intimated care would stop if payment was not received. All up the family will need to pay nearly $AU50,000
The couple were already at the restaurant when they were contacted by the Australians who had run to Ms Geiger’s side, and Ms James says she could hear the ambulance approaching as they dashed over to help.
Ms Geiger was rushed to Siloam medical clinic before being transferred to BIMC medical hospital in Kuta, where Ms James says she and her husband were left shocked by the standard of healthcare.
Ms James claims she had to ‘hound several staff members’ to get information on Ms Geiger’s condition, with many having conflicting opinions or details on her mother-in-law’s injuries.
She said Ms Geiger, who is from Washington, USA, was not asked if she was taking any prescription drugs before she was given heavy painkillers, causing a negative reaction.
Worse still, Ms James claims she and her family were charged at 5-10 hourly intervals to ensure Ms Geiger’s care would continue.
‘They wouldn’t wait til we got hold of our insurance to inform them of the details,’ she said.
‘I got the impression that if we couldn’t produce the $AU700 every few hours they demanded it, they would have turned us out on the street.’
As Ms Geiger was not wearing a helmet, Samantha says there is doubt travel insurance would be able to help with any of the estimated $AU50,000 bill.
‘The conditions in Bali are unique and very dangerous,’ Ms James said.
‘Biggest take home is always wear your helmet and come armed to the teeth with travel insurance.’
Ms Geiger has a very serious fracture in the small of her back (the fracture can be seen in this x-ray where the bone of her spine has split and is now protruding out on each side)
Ms Geiger also has several breaks in her nose all the way back to where her sinuses are, as well as in her jaw
‘Cara is being brave but she’s also admittedly scared. Surgery at home is scary enough, I’m just glad we’re all together and she wasn’t traveling alone,’ Ms James said.
‘She was considering going to Mongolia after Bali and I would be worried if this sort of accident occurred in even more rustic conditions.’
Ms Geiger will have surgery on her spine and face on Wednesday, and will spend another two weeks in hospital recovering before she will be able to leave.
BIMC Kuta has been contacted for comment.
Ms Geiger is undergoing reconstructive surgery on her face and surgery on her spine, she will spend at least two more weeks in hospital before she can possibly return home to America