Jakob Davies, 25, suffered severe injuries after falling from a three-storey balcony during a stag do in Albufeira, Portugal, as his family launches a fundraiser to help him
The devastated family of a Brit who plunged from a three-storey balcony during a stag do in Portugal fear his travel insurance may not cover his mounting medical bills because he had been drinking.
Jakob Davies, 25, remains in hospital in Faro after suffering catastrophic injuries in a fall at a hotel in Albufeira earlier this month. His loved ones say they are still waiting to hear whether his insurer will pay out after tests showed alcohol in his system.
The factory worker, who is from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, had travelled to the Portuguese party hotspot with around 30 work colleagues for a stag weekend on June 4.
His mum, Claire Gerrard, fears the family could be left facing huge costs after doctors warned Jakob he may never walk again without urgent surgery.
The 51-year-old woman 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.”
Jakob had chosen to stay behind at the accommodation on June 5 to play football while the rest of the stag group headed out.
But when his friends returned later that day, they were alarmed to see fire engines, police cars and ambulances rushing towards their hotel.
Claire expained: “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.”
Believed to have fallen from a three-storey balcony, Jakob was initially taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a larger hospital in Faro.
Doctors later discovered he had suffered a serious head injury, broken feet and ankles, as well as fractures to both his L1 and L4 vertebrae.
Recalling the moment she learned about the horror fall, the worried mum said: “I got a phone call at around 11am on Saturday morning [June 6] to say Jakob’s fallen from a three-storey balcony. My initial feelings from then on were absolute dread.”
As Jakob continues his recovery overseas, family and friends have launched a GoFundMe appeal to help cover medical expenses and the cost of bringing him back to the UK.
Travel insurance experts warn that some policies contain exclusions relating to alcohol or drug use, although terms and conditions vary between providers. Holidaymakers are urged to check the small print of their policies before travelling, particularly if they are planning to drink while abroad.
To donate to the GoFundMe, click this link.
