Jakob Davies, 25, was on holiday with friends when he fell from a third-floor balcony
Jakob Davies flew out with a group of work colleagues to Portugal
A family fear their son’s travel insurance won’t pay after he fell from a third-storey balcony on a stag do in Albufeira – because he’d been drinking. Jakob Davies flew out with a group of work colleagues to Portugal for the party on June 4 and chose to stay back at the accommodation on June 5 to play football whilst his friends went out.
When his friends returned, they saw emergency vehicles turning into the hotel before finding the 25-year-old on the floor of the car park, unconscious with severe head injuries.
Believed to have fallen from a balcony, the factory worker was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a bigger hospital in Faro. After arriving at the hospital, doctors discovered that Jakob suffered a head injury, broken feet and ankles and two fractures in his spine.
His mum Claire Gerrard says his travel insurance still have not confirmed if they will pay for the surgery he needs and fears they will not because he was drinking at the stag. Insurance companies often include clauses that state they may refuse a claim if they believe the incident is a result of being under the influence or in connection with alcohol and drugs.
Travel Insurance Explained warn that the terms vary from policy to policy and strongly recommend anyone planning to drink alcohol abroad to check the small print of their individual policies in advance. Jakob’s friends and 51-year-old Claire have set up a GoFundMe to help pay the bills and bring Jakob home as he has been told if he doesn’t have an operation he ‘won’t walk again.’ Claire, who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, said: “It’s awful, it’s a phone call you get when you’re not expecting it, it’s a horrible feeling and obviously it’s a constant worry.
“I think there were about 30 of them and it was somebody from work’s stag party. It’s all really, really vague, Jakob has no recollection of it whatsoever. He had been playing football with some other guys, his party were leaving and Jakob had said ‘I’m going to continue to play football’. I don’t even think he remembers playing football but that’s what he was doing.
“When the party was returning back to the hotel there were fire engines flying past and then the police came past and then the ambulances came past and had turned into their hotel so they thought ‘oh gosh something is going on’. When they got there Jacob was unconscious on the floor with severe head injuries and broken bones, it looked pretty horrific initially.
“When they got him in the ambulance, he had regained consciousness and he was speaking but he wasn’t aware of what had happened. I got a phone call at around 11am on Saturday morning to say Jakob’s fallen from a three-storey balcony.
“My initial feelings from then on were absolute dread.”
As Jakob is still waiting to get confirmation as to whether insurance will cover his bills he is currently on his own in the hospital and Claire is unsure what will happen with Jakob’s treatment and recovery. The hospital has told Jakob if he doesn’t have an operation, he may never be able to walk again – but it will cost money.
You can donate to Jakob’s GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/lets-get-jakob-home
Claire, who is a care business owner, said: “He’s totally on his own. I need to know what’s going to happen to him. He was told if you don’t have this operation immediately then you won’t walk again. He does have travel insurance but because of the alcohol that he’s drunk it’s not looking like they will pay.
“We’ve contacted the insurance company and they wanted all the reports so I sent the reports. The doctor gave Jakob his alcohol levels with his bloods done and it did show alcohol in his system, which unfortunately they will not pay out.
“25 [years old] on a stag party he’s not going to have none is he? They’ve not said no yet, we’re still waiting on information. I think it should be made more clear to people, especially to youngsters.
“You’re going on holiday to a stag party and you can’t drink, they don’t listen, they just go and have a drink.”