The families of the Irish students who survived the June balcony collapse in Berkeley, California that killed six students are now facing another hardship – their insurance companies are refusing to pay for continued treatment in the United States.
The accident, which occurred on June 16, saw a fourth-floor balcony at the Library Gardens apartment complex collapse during a party due to dry rot, killing six college students and seriously injuring seven more.
While the three victims remaining the hospital – Aoife Beary, Niall Murray and Hannah Waters – have been treated at medical facilities in San Francisco, their insurance companies are reportedly pushing them to return to Ireland for the continuation of their care.
Father Brendan McBride, who runs the city’s Irish Immigration Pastoral Center, has been assisting the families of the three students in finding payment for their hospital bills.
“We have learned a lot from this whole tragedy,” McBride told the Irish Examiner. “One of the biggest things we’ve learned is that anyone coming away should read the fine print of their insurance coverage. Even though it says they’re covered for $8 million, $9 million or $10 million, it doesn’t necessarily work out that way as [the insurers] want to get them back home as soon as they’re fit to travel basically.”
Beary suffered a brain injury and requires significant care, while Murray fell on his hands and must undergo more surgery. Waters is said to have at least another month before she can go home.
For those reasons, McBride says it is unreasonable for the students to return to Ireland for their care and that their insurance policies should cover their continued treatment in the US.
“They were initially covered but the insurance companies were more interested in getting doctors’ reports and getting them home,” he said. “The facilities are all here and it was important therefore to keep them here and get as much treatment here as possible – that was half the battle.”
McBride has managed to collect more than $500,000 for the three young adults’ treatment, and the American Ireland Fund and the Denis O’Brien Foundation both made $100,000 donations toward the Irish J1 Berkeley Tragedy Fund, a campaign launched on behalf of the victims.
“We still have about $200,000 in the fund, but we’ve made a promise to make sure we cover all the students’ expenses while they’re here,” said Father McBride.
