Holidaymakers Suffered Serious Injuries In Bus Incident

A Nottinghamshire couple has spoken of their ordeal after suffering injuries and being "effectively imprisoned" in a hospital in the Galapagos Islands as they could not afford their medical bills.

Paulina Guevara and her boyfriend Xavier Doyle were on holiday with family on the Galapagos island of Isabella when the brakes on their tour bus failed as they descended the slope of a volcano, the Newark Advertiser reports.

The bus crashed and Xavier suffered a broken arm and dislocated elbow, while Paulina and her mother also sustained broken bones.

They were taken to the island group's only hospital, where they were told a medical plane was on its way, but it failed to arrive. A cargo plane eventually transported them to a private hospital on the Ecuadorean mainland.

Xavier was also told that he could not leave the hospital until he paid his £16,000 medical bill. Despite giving the hospital all the money they had, it took the family five weeks before they could raise the rest of the bill and go home.

Expert Opinion

This case is similar to many which we are involved in, when holidaymakers have gone abroad for adventure and relaxation only to suffer serious injuries which ruin their breaks and also have a lasting impact on their lives. <br/> <br/>"It is vital that steps are taken to determine what went wrong in this crash and what can be done to ensure that the same problems are not seen again in the future. <br/> <br/>"The physical and psychological trauma caused by such incidents should not be underestimated and the work we do ensures that people are able to get access to vital support and rehabilitation services to help them in their recovery." Philip Banks - Partner