Is this good enough?

[Davo5]

11 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Zane is a Kiwi, I don't know if that would make a difference. And in the current climate and government, it is worth remembering that he is reportedly a very high earner too. Both of which may affect these things.

New Zealand has the same agreement I believe,although that probably only covers emergency treatment & not the follow up surgery.

[Tommygilf]

4 hours ago, Damien said:

Its all complicated, as is the way with insurance, something you'd need to check for your particular circumstances. My general starting point on insurance though is that if they can find a way to get out of paying then they will.

Again as well there is a difference between "lead a normal life" recovery and "play top level rugby league within a few months" recovery, which I bet the insurers will be strict on, especially for non-rugby related injuries.

By the sounds of it Zane has had a stroke on the training pitch, which has been sorted at the LGI by the NHS in the normal way, with further investigative work revealing a heart problem that has then required subsequent surgery.

Whether the timescales offered necessitated that going private for the op was the only way to ensure a quick job, who knows at this point? An excess needed paying?

I agree with you though that I suspect the insurance covered none or only part of this.

[Dave T]

14 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

Again as well there is a difference between "lead a normal life" recovery and "play top level rugby league within a few months" recovery, which I bet the insurers will be strict on, especially for non-rugby related injuries.

By the sounds of it Zane has had a stroke on the training pitch, which has been sorted at the LGI by the NHS in the normal way, with further investigative work revealing a heart problem that has then required subsequent surgery.

Whether the timescales offered necessitated that going private for the op was the only way to ensure a quick job, who knows at this point? An excess needed paying?

I agree with you though that I suspect the insurance covered none or only part of this.

Based on the fact he was in light training and active following his stroke before having his op, I think it's a safe assumption that his op didn't come so quickly on the NHS. 

[hunsletgreenandgold]

59 minutes ago, Dave T said:

I don't understand Smith's tweets tbh. It suggests he doesn't know. 

Agreed - or he's being deliberately ambiguous.

[Tommygilf]

9 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Based on the fact he was in light training and active following his stroke before having his op, I think it's a safe assumption that his op didn't come so quickly on the NHS. 

He ran a 10k last week too.

It's a strange one because the heart condition, whilst connected in ways that I'm not qualified to understand to the stroke, has been something he has been living with unknowingly for years - whilst playing in the NRL and Super League.

Is the op then a precautionary personal procedure, future proofing so to speak? I can see why the Rhinos rugby insurers wouldn't be keen on dealing with it either. Though likewise would they be happy with him playing on now without the op?

Its a big grey area I suppose.

For Leeds they don't want a player out for essentially the rest of his contract (its up at the end of this season iirc), but there is a limit on that. Tetevano himself is obviously going to be likely in favour of an operation and has his own playing, and therfore financial, future to consider.

[BadlyOverdrawnBoy]

According to some reports there was a complication, he had another heart attack when he got the bill.

[RigbyLuger]

Where does what an employer is responsible for start and end?

[Chrispmartha]

9 minutes ago, BadlyOverdrawnBoy said:

According to some reports there was a complication, he had another heart attack when he got the bill.

He didn't have a Heart Attack in the first place, bit of a joke fail that one

Edited June 28, 2023 by Chrispmartha

[Pie tries]

14 hours ago, Damien said:

Obviously this is an attempt to have a dig at Leeds after a Leeds fan started a thread titled the same about Keighley. However I think the cases are quite different.

One was a player getting badly injured playing the game of Rugby League. An injury that should have been very much anticipated as a normal rugby injury. As a professional club Keighley should have had adequate insurance in place to cover this and to protect their player. That is just poor governance and compounded by trying to shift the blame onto the NHS.

Zane Tetevano's injury is not a normal rugby injury and not one that would be expected playing the game of Rugby League. Rugby insurance would certainly not cover this. Similarly insurance such as BUPA does not cover pre-existing medical conditions, which as most heart defects occur from birth and Tetevano has only been at the club 2 years, this is very likely to be. There is nothing unreasonable about Leeds not having protection for this in place.

Now maybe Leeds could cover this as a good deed and ultimately it is to their benefit if they do. I personally think its unlikely they havent or that it hasnt been done through the NHS as it was performed at Leeds General. His surgery was quick and the only appeal Ive seen is for the Childrens Heart Surgery Fund.

Either way I think the cases are quite different. 

If it wasn’t known about its not a pre existing condition- that’s the risk insurers take…

[Damien]

12 minutes ago, Pie tries said:

If it wasn’t known about its not a pre existing condition- that’s the risk insurers take…

Have that argument with the likes of Bupa then because its not what they say.

[Dave T]

A pre-existing exclusion is for things that have been diagnosed. And even in those cases, some insurances and policies will remove that exclusion if it hasn't been a problem for a set period of time. 

If he has never been diagnosed with a heart condition, it is very unlikely that it is excluded from any policy. 

[The storm]

On 28/06/2023 at 08:08, Eddie said:

Do you know much the hefty bill is, why it’s not being paid for by the NHS, what insurance if any was in place, or if Leeds have said they’re definitely not paying though? 

He likely went private and a pre existing condition would not be covered

[Damien]

3 hours ago, Dave T said:

A pre-existing exclusion is for things that have been diagnosed. And even in those cases, some insurances and policies will remove that exclusion if it hasn't been a problem for a set period of time. 

If he has never been diagnosed with a heart condition, it is very unlikely that it is excluded from any policy. 

That isn't the case. Insurers have a million caveats for all of this and its as clear as mud. It is on their say so, not what you believe to be the case. From Bupa:

I haven’t been diagnosed with anything, so do I still have a pre-existing condition?

Your doctor or specialist may say they hadn’t yet diagnosed your condition and therefore you didn’t have a pre-existing condition. However, our appointed doctor may determine – based on the documentation you provide as well as their own medical knowledge – that signs or symptoms of your condition had been present. Even with the best of intentions, your doctors may not have had all the information they needed and may not be used to making this assessment for insurance purposes. It’s still our appointed doctor who needs to take all these things into account, even where there has been no prior diagnosis made.

My doctor doesn’t think I have a pre-existing condition. Why do they have a different opinion to you?

Your doctor may not be aware of the information provided to us by any other doctors that may have seen you. They also may not be aware of the definition of a pre-existing condition under the legislation. Some doctors may believe you should’ve been experiencing signs and symptoms continuously to have a pre-existing condition, but this isn’t the case. It’s common with some chronic or even acute conditions (for example, ear infections or tonsillitis) for you to have experienced gaps between episodes of illness. However, the underlying cause and certain signs of your condition have been there, even if you haven’t noticed it.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Damien