While we all book ourselves a holiday to take a break from society, treat ourselves to some much-needed R&R, and give ourselves the opportunity to see and explore some of the worlds, that doesn’t mean that life takes a break from us.
While it’s easy to get sucked up into the thrills and excitement of whatever you’ve chosen to do in your holiday, if you find yourself in an accident situation, things can quickly go south; especially since you’re outside your comfort zone.
When you’re in a foreign country, and you hurt yourself, this can cause a lot of panics, because what are you supposed to do? Where do you go from here? Today, you’re going to find out. (See also: What To Know In A Legal Sense If You Had An Auto Accident)
Get Prepared
The most important thing to remember is that preparing yourself for an accident starts way before you actually go on holiday. Firstly, you’ll want to make sure you’re taking out travel insurance. This is especially important if you’re going on a sports holiday, like skiing or snowboarding.
If you’re traveling in Europe, you’ll be entitled to a free European Health Insurance Card. This means if you go to the hospital in another country, the fees for the hospital can then be charged to the health service in your country of origin, rather than you having to pay. To get yourself a card, you’ll need to make your way through the EU Health Card Submission Service.
Learn the Emergency Services
It doesn’t matter where you are in the world; they’ll be a three-digit number, like “999” that will connect you with the emergency services for that country. Hand in hand with the consideration above, it’s important to make sure you know this before traveling out.
If you find yourself in an accident, just like you would at home, make sure you’re contacting the service and getting yourself or your loved one the medical assistance they need. Sorting out the finances, logistics, and insurance, etc. will come afterward.
Write Down Evidence
From your own personal account to witness reports or even official police reports depending on the severity of the incident, it’s important to make sure you’re writing down evidence of what happened from as many people’s perspectives as possible.
You’ll also need to make sure you’re getting proof you were in the hospital, and a doctor’s note or an admission slip to make sure you have proof that it happened. This is so you can show your insurance company everything that happened in as much detail as possible, helping you to make your claim successfully.
Learn About Your Location
Of course, the world is a big place, and lots of different places have lots of different processes for how things work, so make sure you’re learning about these things, so they don’t take you by surprise when you’re out there.
This is important to help your experience with an accident, or just your trip in general. A good idea can be to read up on something using a website like Lonely Planet that will detail all the cultural aspects, emergency numbers, and how things work for the best experience.
Summary
While it’s impossible to completely minimize the risk of something bad happening to you abroad or potentially finding yourself in an accident, it’s important to make sure you’re as prepared as possible to make sure you look after yourself and your loved ones as much as possible.
About The Author:
Stacey Smith is a freelance health writer. She is passionate to write about women’s health, dental health, diabetes, endocrinology and nutrition and provide in-depth features on the latest in health news for medical clinics and health magazines.