A British holidaymaker has been slapped with a £30,000 hospital bill after cracking her skull on a marble floor in Majorca.
Lynn Smith, 59, from Colchester, had travelled to the Spanish island on May 18 to celebrate her upcoming 60th birthday with relatives, continuing a family tradition of marking milestone birthdays abroad.
Just four days into the trip, Mrs Smith collapsed in her hotel lobby after feeling unwell, striking her head on a marble floor.
Her daughter, Rose Rushbrook, later discovered the family's travel insurance policy only covered household members aged under 18, leaving them responsible for the cost of flying Mrs Smith back to the UK.
The accident happened on the morning of May 22 after Mrs Smith had eaten breakfast and was walking through the hotel reception to book a boat trip.
"She's very healthy, she eats well and she doesn't drink alcohol, so it was most likely just the heat," Rose said.
Mrs Smith suddenly lost consciousness and fell backwards, suffering a severe head injury.
"That caused immediate swelling and her eye was really swollen while a bleed on the brain was trying to come out," Rose said.
"It's been horrific really from that point."
Just four days into the trip, Mrs Smith collapsed in her hotel lobby after feeling unwell, striking her head on a marble floor
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Paramedics rushed Mrs Smith to a local hospital, where doctors diagnosed a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage before transferring her to a larger hospital with specialist neurosurgeons.
She underwent emergency surgery on May 24 to relieve pressure on her brain and ultimately required two operations to stop the bleeding before being placed into a medically induced coma.
Ms Rushbrook, a 34-year-old NHS mental health lecturer who lives with her mother, said the family had assumed their travel insurance covered everyone living at the same address.
"I thought she was covered under my family travel insurance because we all live together, we just assumed," she said.
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Paramedics rushed Mrs Smith to a local hospital, where doctors diagnosed a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage
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"I didn't look into the small print about it only being people who are under 18, so it was a bit of a small print issue."
Although Mrs Smith's European Health Insurance Card covered her hospital treatment in Spain, it did not pay for medical repatriation.
Ms Rushbrook was forced to borrow £30,000 to pay for a specialist medical flight that returned her mother to Colchester General Hospital on June 9.
Mrs Smith has since regained consciousness but remains unable to speak.
Rose was forced to borrow £30,000 to pay for a specialist medical flight that returned her mother to Colchester General Hospital
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"She can't communicate and we can't determine how much she knows at the moment," Ms Rushbrook said.
"It's impossible to know right now what her recovery will be like, but she can move her eyes and she responds to voices."
The financial strain extended beyond the repatriation costs.
The 34-year-old had to leave her father, who is in his 80s, in Majorca while arrangements were made to bring Mrs Smith home, with his accommodation costing around £1,000 a week.
"I left my dad out there who is in his 80s and we were having to pay for his hotel, which was working out at £1,000 a week, so we were burning through money," she said.
"It's been horrific. It's impossible to know right now [for recovery] but she can move her eyes and she responds to voices."