Travel Insurance Claims - True Stories

Whiplash

INDONESIA | Thursday, 8 May 2008 | Views [309]

I was really looking forward to scuba diving in Bali. Not long after I arrived, I signed up for a dive with a local company, who promised to take me out to a dive location in a new speed boat. They had just renovated the boat but had not yet installed any scuba tank racks or non-slip material on the floor. The tanks were left lying on the floor of the boat, unsecured.

Onboard, I was instructed to put on my equipment; I did so while sitting on a narrow ledge at the back of the boat, with my feet resting on some loose tanks: there was nowhere else to sit. Just as I finished putting on my dive gear, the boat moved and the tanks beneath my feet began to roll. I slipped, falling from the ledge of the boat onto the floor — however, my scuba jacket and tank stayed on the ledge, wrenching my shoulders upwards and jerking my neck before I hit my head against my own tank.

Immediately after the accident, I experienced only moderate pain when moving my neck, but I seemed to have lost significant mobility. I guess I hoped it would heal itself. A month later, I was in Singapore and still in pain, so I visited a doctor. She sent me for an X-ray to confirm there were no broken bones — there weren't — before prescribing pain medication and then referring me to a physiotherapist. The physio discovered I had damaged the discs in my neck and told me the injury was consistent with whiplash. I am about 80-90 per cent better now and hope to enjoy full recovery soon.

Tags: claim, world nomads, medical, indonesia, bali, hospitals & health, true claim stories, diving, scuba

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