ANGER AS STRANDED GRANDAD DIES ON HIS HOLS; Insurance firm wouldn't pay to fly William home.Byline: John Ferguson John Ferguson may refer to one of the following:
A GRANDAD hit by a series of health blows on a cruise died stranded in a Canary Islands Canary Islands, Span. Islas Canarias, group of seven islands (1990 pop. 1,589,403), 2,808 sq mi (7,273 sq km), autonomous region of Spain, in the Atlantic Ocean off Western Sahara. They constitute two provinces of Spain. Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1990 pop. hospital last night. William Findlay's devastated wife Amellia had been desperate to have him flown home to die with his family around him. But she was stunned when the firm who insured their golden wedding anniversary cruise refused to pick up the bill. Now the family do not even know when they will be able to bring the body home as Columbus Insurance say their policy is invalid. Problems The insurance firm say grandad-of-11 William, 74, who was first rushed to hospital after fracturing his spine on the cruise ship, did not declare his medical history properly. William's grand-daughter Karananne, 29, said: "The family just wanted to get him home so he could die with us around him. "But the insurance firmsaid they wouldn't pay pounds 20,000 for an air ambulance air ambulance Emergency medicine A helicopter or, less commonly, a fixed wing aircraft, used to evacuate a person who requires immediate medical attention that cannot be provided at his/her current location because he didn't tell them about medical problems. "It has been a heartbreaking chain of events. It started when he fell on board the boat and fractured his spine. "Within the space of a week, he caught pneumonia and after tests it was found he also had cancer. He died after suffering a heart attack. My gran is in a terrible state. "At first, Columbus told us he was covered. "But then they discovered he hadn't declared he had angina or that he was obese. "They said they could no longer pay to get him home and will not even pay for my gran's hotel out there." The couple, from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire For other uses of "Alexandria", see Alexandria (disambiguation). Coordinates: Alexandria (Cathair Alastair in Gaelic) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. , left on October 21 for a 10-day cruise of the Canaries on the P&O ship Arcadia. But a few days into the cruise, William, a retired security guard, fractured his spine and had to be taken to hospital on Lanzarote. He was moved to Gran Canaria Gran Canaria is the third largest island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 210 km from the northwest coast of Africa and belonging to Spain. It is located southeast of Tenerife and west of Fuerteventura. after pneumonia and cancer were diagnosed. Amellia, 74, was at his side when he died. Hairdresser Karananne said Columbus insisted tapes of calls proved William had not declared his medical problems - but would not let the family hear them. Samantha O'Connor, head of business development at Columbus, said: "It is vital to ensure if you have a medical condition that you declare to your insurance company all the details about those preexisting conditions." CAPTION(S): CRUISE: Amellia with William who broke back in fall |
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