On Sunday evening, the family reluctantly wrote to the insurance company to say “In the circumstances you have given us no choice but to agree to your repatriation plan. This has placed us in an impossible position. You have asked us to agree to a repatriation plan in respect of which we have no proper details, not even the name of her receiving physician in the UK.”
Cat Rubens then took to X to highlight their predicament. “We were backed into a corner, I didn’t want to do it, but I felt I had no option but to post on X.”
Following the social media post, Ms Rubens said, AXA Partners called to apologise to the family saying they would not do anything without the consent of the family and of both the treating and receiving hospital.
“We know that repatriation has to happen – it’s what we want for mum,” said Cat.
“But it has to be based on the neurological opinion not just on whether she’s fit to fly from an aviation point of view. We weren’t being unreasonable – they just weren’t listening.”
In a statement, AXA Partners said they were “sorry for the distress Ms Rubens and her family have experienced when making a claim and we sympathise with their situation. We have spoken with Ms Rubens’ family and will remain in contact with them over the coming days to support them.
"Our medical team and Ms Rubens’ treating doctors will agree the best course of action going forward. We are considering all available options and the welfare of Ms Rubens and her family remains our priority.”