Disney cruise injury

[kiford]

1. She didn’t read the fine print on the insurance policy, so she didn’t know the deadline.

Except it's not fine print. Any insurance policy will state this quite clearly in addition to any exceptions. I realize that the documents are quite long and that many people don't read them, but they are not trying to hide anything. My 85 year old father missed his cruise last week (not DCL) due to weather issues and just finished his filing yesterday online. He didn't even know what a PDF file was - which they wanted to be attached - but figured it out. There's really no excuse not to read your insurance policy. Always best to read it before you buy it, but at least read it after you've acquired it. You certainly need to read it as soon as you think you may need to file a claim. Even if you think there are going to be future costs due to medical issues, you start the claim and keep it open until it's completed. There's absolutely no way any insurance company is going to give you the ability to file after the deadline that they've clearly indicated in the contract because you didn't read it.

 

[tinkerone]

As for the door. My husband and I just finished the track on deck 4. Near Muster O. There are two large glass doors that lead into the 2nd level of lobby Aft. He hit a button on outside to open door. He walked through. I followed as I was walking through the door shut in me. I was so stunned I froze. The door opened and closed on me again. It hit me in the shoulder hip and foot. At least that’s what hurt. There was a crew member who witnessed the episode. Don’t know if he was working near or on door. So far no one has provide d the incident report despite me requesting same. I guess I am naive and trusted Disney to play fair. No I was not aware of timelines of any kind. I don’t think my ask is unreasonable. My medical reimbursement under $1000. Plus I would like to retake this trip w 2 family members that were with me. Since it happened on first day. I really couldn’t take advantage of most of what shipped offered

First, how quickly did the door open and close? I have been through those doors dozens of times and have never had the experience of it opening and closing so quickly I couldn't get out of the way. You froze, fine, but did you not notice the door reopen? Would you not have moved then? Maybe you didn't think it would reclose and do the same thing it did the first time?
Second, and most interestingly, you would like to retake the trip with 2 family members? Why in heavens name would you think that they owe you and your family another trip? Did they make you disembark early? Did they not allow you out of your room? Did your family also get locked in? Your just being silly with this one.

I must be naive. Initially I went to my PCP. He said it would take time. I did hot/cold compress and Advil. I knew that Disney risk management knew. I don’t have tons of bills. Few months ago went back to PCP. ( just received bill). He suggested PT which I started. I really didn’t know I had to rush to send bills in. Disney is self insured or if they are not - no one at risk claims suggested anything else. I don’t hate Disney. I thought the ship and my balcony room was gorgeous. I just missed out on a lot and feel cheated. I have visited their parks prob dozen time. This was my first Disney cruise. I am unsatisfied with the way I was treated. I still hope someone at Disney will review my request and do the right thing.

Do you really think that you are rushed to send in the bills when you are given a year to do so? Really?

I'm not a cheer section for Disney. I like them but I can certainly do without so when I say the things I did believe me, I would be saying them for any cruise line thread that had the same issue. It's just unreasonable. Unreasonable all around. Take some of the blame on yourself. After all, your the one who broke the contract.

 

[DisneyPiPhi]

Our TA sent us 3 different travel insurance policies to choose one and, after reading all of them, we decided to go without and packed a credit card with a high limit.

This is nonsensical. With travel insurance, had you had an emergency and needed to use that card with the high limit (i.e. on an air ambulance or emergency surgery), your policy would have covered the expenses. Without the insurance, you'd be paying off the credit card yourself.

 

[insureman]

Our TA sent us 3 different travel insurance policies to choose one and, after reading all of them, we decided to go without and packed a credit card with a high limit.

I hope your limit is above $25,000 because the cost for medical evacuation and transportation can run between $25,000 to as high as $250,000! Medical costs and medical evacuation are the only reasons we get travel insurance. That's what will bankrupt you.

 

[Adventurelawyer]

I hope your limit is above $25,000 because the cost for medical evacuation and transportation can run between $25,000 to as high as $250,000! Medical costs and medical evacuation are the only reasons we get travel insurance. That's what will bankrupt you.

this is exactly why you get cruise insurance. Its the entire exact point of cruise insurance.

 

[bakerworld]

This is nonsensical. With travel insurance, had you had an emergency and needed to use that card with the high limit (i.e. on an air ambulance or emergency surgery), your policy would have covered the expenses. Without the insurance, you'd be paying off the credit card yourself.

Our regular health insurance covers travel occurrences on a reimbursement basis. I had already discussed the particulars with our health advocate to insure I understood the coverage parameters.

 

[bakerworld]

I hope your limit is above $25,000 because the cost for medical evacuation and transportation can run between $25,000 to as high as $250,000! Medical costs and medical evacuation are the only reasons we get travel insurance. That's what will bankrupt you.

Yes, over 25K

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I guess I just feel like life happens. People have accidents. Kids get sick. Etc, etc. We don’t hold other people or companies responsible for life. We don’t do trip insurance because we like to just take life the way our grandparents did. And because for the most part insurance is a scam. Just like in the incredibles. (We do have health and homeowners but very high deductible, effectively unusable except in lose everything type of situations.) We don’t understand this whole culture where everyone is reimbursed and compensated for every little thing. My advice is to let go. Too much stress trying to collect from an insurance company. Lawsuits are bad news. Never been involved in one but I have watched others. Emotionally not worth it and it ruins your reputation. Bad karma all around.

 

[bakerworld]

this is exactly why you get cruise insurance. Its the entire exact point of cruise insurance.

We were not looking at travel insurance for health reasons as our regular health insurance covers international - we were looking at weather and transportation emergencies.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I guess I just feel like life happens. People have accidents. Kids get sick. Etc, etc. We don’t hold other people or companies responsible for life. We don’t do trip insurance because we like to just take life the way our grandparents did. And because for the most part insurance is a scam. Just like in the incredibles. (We do have health and homeowners but very high deductible, effectively unusable except in lose everything type of situations.) We don’t understand this whole culture where everyone is reimbursed and compensated for every little thing. My advice is to let go. Too much stress trying to collect from an insurance company. Lawsuits are bad news. Never been involved in one but I have watched others. Emotionally not worth it and it ruins your reputation. Bad karma all around.

Yes, but any of those things happening while on a cruise (or other vacation), it can cost thousands of dollars (indeed, hundreds of thousands) just to be medically evacuated. That's not even talking about the costs of medical treatment necessary to be able to be evacuated.

It's worth it to me to spend only a few hundred dollars to ensure that I can afford to be treated, and returned home.

 

[tinkerone]

Yes, but any of those things happening while on a cruise (or other vacation), it can cost thousands of dollars (indeed, hundreds of thousands) just to be medically evacuated. That's not even talking about the costs of medical treatment necessary to be able to be evacuated.

It's worth it to me to spend only a few hundred dollars to ensure that I can afford to be treated, and returned home.

Well said. For that poster to say 'life happens' isn't going to help when the medical bills start pouring in.

On our October cruise there was a child who was medically evacuated. From what I heard it was just a matter of he/she falling out of the bunk bed. Not something one would think would cause a evacuation but there you have it. Then there would be the cost of the family getting to the hospital to be with the child. The cost of having to move the child to a hospital in their home town if necessary. The cost of getting the family home. Keeping your fingers crossed isn't going to help pay. Not having travel insurance covering the cost of a trip is one thing but not having medical insurance is quite another.
Yes, life happens but we do need to be a bit prepared.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Yes, but any of those things happening while on a cruise (or other vacation), it can cost thousands of dollars (indeed, hundreds of thousands) just to be medically evacuated. That's not even talking about the costs of medical treatment necessary to be able to be evacuated.

It's worth it to me to spend only a few hundred dollars to ensure that I can afford to be treated, and returned home.

We just are not accident prone. People have traveled the world for thousands of years without accident insurance. Did Walt Disney have travel insurance? No. We are not guided by fear. We accept that there are risks in life. We have no health issues. We are also pretty self reliant. I’m not going to worry about trying to collect 10k from a crappy insurance company in the off chance one of my kids gets hurt. People shell out much more than that in extra insurance costs over the years. And I am definitely not going to blame Disney or whatever company if my kid gets hurt while they happen to be on a ship.

 

[bakerworld]

This thread is 3 pages long and it just hit me that apparently the only reason to have travel insurance is for illness/accidents that occur during the trip - yes? So how come people don't just use their regular health insurance? We always take our cards with us even though we know it's covered on a reimbursement basis. Is the reimbursement basis the reason people get travel insurance?

 

[71 Truck]

We just are not accident prone. People have traveled the world for thousands of years without accident insurance. Did Walt Disney have travel insurance? No. We are not guided by fear. We accept that there are risks in life. We have no health issues. We are also pretty self reliant. I’m not going to worry about trying to collect 10k from a crappy insurance company in the off chance one of my kids gets hurt. People shell out much more than that in extra insurance costs over the years. And I am definitely not going to blame Disney or whatever company if my kid gets hurt while they happen to be on a ship.

I understand your thinking if you can afford to pay out of pocket five to ten thousand dollars to a hospital in another country. Most people I know can't so to them a couple hundred dollars for an insurance policy is piece of mind for them. I do not get travel insurance for the little things like loss of luggage or trip delay my concern are thing like medical evacuation or medical cost that may happen due to no fault of my own. Cost that can go in exes of hundreds of thousands of dollars are what worries me. There have been cases I have read about people in hospitals in foreign country's, mostly South America that wont let people leave till they pay their bill.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

So how come people don't just use their regular health insurance?

It is not uncommon, at least in the US, for health insurance to either not cover expenses incurred outside the country (especially medical evacs which are super expensive) or to pay so very little that it can still ruin you financially.

We always take our cards with us even though we know it's covered on a reimbursement basis. Is the reimbursement basis the reason people get travel insurance?

Reimbursement can be a factor if you can't afford to pay the charges upfront and then wait for your insurance company to do so, often taking as long as possible and paying as little as possible.

 

[BadPinkTink]

This thread is 3 pages long and it just hit me that apparently the only reason to have travel insurance is for illness/accidents that occur during the trip - yes

no, travel insurance also covers flight delays, lost or damaged luggage, cancellations due to illness and many other things. For example one year my family had planned Christmas and New Year to visit my sister. Flights, hotels car hire etc were all booked and paid for. About 6 weeks before the trip, my dad became ill and we couldn't travel. We filed a claim with the travel insurance and submitted his medical documents and we were able to get refunded.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So how come people don't just use their regular health insurance?

It is not uncommon, at least in the US, for health insurance to either not cover expenses incurred outside the country (especially medical evacs which are super expensive) or to pay so very little that it can still ruin you financially.

To clarify - many health insurance plans in the US do not cover "out of country". And, once you board the ship, you are "out of country".

Added to that, it's a good idea to have a high credit card limit on at least one card, as many medical facilities will require pre-payment for services.

And, unlike insurance plans "at home", you'll have to pay up front and submit for reimbursement once back home.

 

[Adventurelawyer]

This thread is 3 pages long and it just hit me that apparently the only reason to have travel insurance is for illness/accidents that occur during the trip - yes? So how come people don't just use their regular health insurance? We always take our cards with us even though we know it's covered on a reimbursement basis. Is the reimbursement basis the reason people get travel insurance?

Because your regular health insurance often doesn’t cover you outside of your state of residence let alone another country. Nor will your insurance cover the cost of a medivac or air ambulance which is typically a chartered aircraft G4 or Lear.

But medical issues and freak accidents aren’t the only reason. I absolutely feel that weather is also a legit reason to seek trip insurance. While I could, but would not want, to eat the cost of the trip over a weather related issue, I could never cover a medivac. It would absolutely BK me.

also consider, not every country like America where you get billed later and still get treated regardless of your ability to pay ( you pay, an ER can’t refuse you service or run your credit card, the point is you can walk out without the police coming). In other places, you often may not leave the hospital until your bill is paid, including the cost of your medivac, if needed. If you don’t have an emergency number or policy to tap, you might be stuck.

 

[robinb]

I'm sorry this happened to you and that Disney hasn't been helpful. Your description of your accident does indicate that, if your description is accurate, it was Disney's responsibility. If it was witnessed by a cast member and reported then and there, Disney should have been proactive about taking care of your medical costs at the very least, maybe going the extra mile & discounting you a future cruise, but I wouldn't expect a whole cruise to be comped. They shouldn't have left you to try to hammer it out with an insurance company with no direct guidance, when they know an accident is their fault.

Disney is not proactive at anything other than covering their butt.

I am far from a Disney Apologist but the OP is the one who messed up here by not starting a claim on time. I'm sorry she was hurt and I'm sorry she didn't get to enjoy her cruise, but short of suing Disney for less than $1000 I don't see an answer there.

 

[Lisa F]

I hope your limit is above $25,000 because the cost for medical evacuation and transportation can run between $25,000 to as high as $250,000! Medical costs and medical evacuation are the only reasons we get travel insurance. That's what will bankrupt you.

Yup, my dad shattered his ankle in Bermuda on a cruise that my mother won. Since she typically pays for travel with her amex platinum (which includes travel insurance) she did not think about the travel insurance at the time and when they were talking evac it was going to be $35k - this was about 15 years ago and about as close as you can get to the continental us outside of the continental US. We never travel without supplemental medical insurance now. They were able to get him situated with a first class ticket that was only about $2k but it was very stressful for a while as they don't just let you fly and pay later for evac - they expect payment up front. Luckily while she was making the arrangements he got well enough to fly first class.

We were having a last night dinner at Kona once and they served me wings that were RAW near the bone. I took a bite and chewed and swallowed and it tasted very strange so I looked down and saw bloody raw chicken. I asked to speak to a manager and he took my entire meal off the bill (as I had lost my appetite) but I also didn't leave there without securing a way to reference the incident since I was flying alone with my then 5 year old within the period when symptoms would likely arise.

I luckily did not end up needing it BUT if you have an incident with Disney, don't leave until you have a way to reference it and also don't wait a year to expect them to do something. You can get if i had gotten sick I would have given them the bill right away and been in touch with them about what exactly the claims process was. A year later who the heck knows what happened and it is impossible to follow up with the CM- even if they are still there they may not remember. It's not fair to ask Disney to take responsibility for something so long after it happened - you have to make sure you get what you need in the moment while info and memories are still fresh.