Daughter says paralysed York grandad who is stuck in Benidorm hospital treated badly

Robert Atkinson, 67, fell ill whilst on holiday with his wife, Carol, 64 in Spain.

His legs collapsed under him as he was finishing a meal and he woke up the following morning paralysed.

Mr Atkinson, who runs the King William pub in York, was rushed to hospital by ambulance but his family claim his travel insurance is refusing to pay out for his medical bills.

His daughter Amanda Liddle claims couple have been "left alone" to pay for the medical bills after insurance company Zurich "refused" to pay up due to factors the couple had "no idea" about.

She says the company is refusing to pay because her dad was unwittingly taken to a private hospital, had not disclosed all the medication he was on and because he had alcohol in his blood on admittance.

Amanda is calling for people to be "more aware" and "vigilant" when buying holiday insurance packages.

She said: "This situation has just made everything 100 times worse.

"You never expect to go on holiday and fall ill - you expect to be looked after and not caught out for clauses you didn't know about."

Robert had been enjoying a glass of red wine alongside his last meal at the popular holiday destination with his wife Carol when his legs collapsed from underneath him.

The pub landlord managed to get himself to bed with assistance from a mobility scooter and Carol but he woke up the next day paralysed from his waist down.

Robert was rushed to a local hospital where doctors discovered a small tumour in his lower back that had weakened his spine causing a vertebra to collapse which left him unable to use his legs.

The grandad underwent emergency spinal surgery.

But the following day the couple received the news that Zurich, which Robert pays an annual subscription for, would not be covering the costs of the treatment he had received.

Amanda says the company "abused loopholes" to save themselves from forking out and help the family in need.

These included the private hospital Rob was taken to and the care he received - they only cover state - and that traces of alcohol were found in his blood.

She said: "It is just shocking and we feel we have been taken advantage of.

"My mum was in absolute shock when he was being taken to hospital and she had plenty of other things on her mind other than which one he was being taken too.

"It's unfair to expect her to know which hospitals were private and which weren't - she can't speak the language and has been using translation app to speak to the nurses."

"I mean who goes on holiday to not have a drink - it is ridiculous - it's not as if the wine he had drank had caused his injury."

Amanda says Zurich "null and voided" Rob's claim upon finding the alcohol in his system.

The daughter also revealed another reason why the insurance company wouldn't pay due to Rob not updated his recent medical history.

She said: "They expected him to have included any medication he had taken in the past year which included simple stuff like paracetamol and ibuprofen."

"It is really frustrating as I don't think many people including us realised the importance of such small details."

Amanda says the Rob has filed a complaint to the insurance company which the hopes of getting some of his treatment paid for.

She says that paying off the debt they now owe will be "tricky".

She said: "I have set up a GoFundMe for him there has also been lots of support pouring in with donations.

"Robs favorite rugby team Acorn have also made a generous donation.

"We will also be running a fun Easter event of Rob's pub this Easter weekend to hopefully raise some more money for him."

Amanda says Rob is "in a lot of pain" and is "frustrated and upset" about what happened adding he just "wants to get back home".

Rob is currently waiting for the all-clear so he can travel home via a private medical transfer as he is unable to travel back via a commercial flight.

This may include him being driven in an ambulance over 1000 miles and then traveling by boat across The Channel back to the UK if a private plane can't be provided for him.

Amanda said: "We just need him back in the UK so he can be treated properly and so we can all understand what is going on."

"We haven't been told anything really about his tumour yet.

"Once he is home then we can all start to recover."