Insurer refuses to fly travel blogger with brain injury back to US after horror crash in Bali

‘Two young men found her on a remote road, alone, unconscious, broken and bleeding. Without their help, she surely would have died’

Kaitlyn McCaffery is in Bali where she has suffered a traumatic brain injury (Dena Gustus Cruz/GoFundMe)

An American travel blogger has been stranded in Bali after a scooter accident left her in a coma, and her travel insurance company refused to pay to fly her home.

Kaitlyn McCaffery has been in hospital in Indonesia since an accident on 31 July that left her with a traumatic brain injury, facial fractures and other injuries – and her family have been unable to get to her due to coronavirus restrictions.

According to a GoFundMe page set up by friend of the family, Kaitlyn was on her way home to her apartment when she had a scooter accident.

“Two young men found her on a remote road, alone, unconscious, broken and bleeding. Without their help, she surely would have died,” the post said.

The blogger, a Cal State Fullerton graduate and Instagram influencer, had been travelling the world for five years, visiting more than 50 countries and writing about her experiences.

After her insurance company “refused” to bring her home, her desperate friends and relatives have tried to raise the money themselves.

“Although Kaitlyn was smart to buy international medical insurance, the insurance company has refused to pay for the cost to evacuate her to California,” said a message on a GoFundMe page set up for the travel blogger.

“The costs to evacuate her using an experienced international medevac company, such as Air Med or International SOS, are extremely daunting. 

“Due to the distance and Covid-related border closures, it is estimated that the cost will be approx. $250,000 US Dollars,” the message explained.

The family has raised almost enough to fly Kaitlyn home, with the fundraiser on GoFundMe sitting at $230,000 at the time of writing. They are hoping to fly her to a major trauma hospital in Northern California to undergo treatment.