Brit mother who broke her back in Greece when car slammed into her quadbike is left with £28,000 medical bill due to ‘wrong travel insurance’

DAILYMAIL.COM • 3h ago

By ISABELLA MACHIN, REPORTER 08:54 09 Oct 2026, updated 08:55 09 Oct 2026

A British mother who broke her back when a car crashed into her quadbike while on holiday in Greece was left with a £28,000 medical bill after discovering she had the wrong travel insurance.

Diane Steadman was enjoying a two-week holiday in Skiathos, Greece, in September with her partner Mick Raftery and visiting different beaches by quadbike.

But on the final day of their £2,200 trip on September 11, as they were returning the vehicle to the rental company, the 61-year-old claims a car crashed into them from behind.

The impact sent the quadbike spinning and catapulted Diane and Mick from the vehicle.

While Mick escaped with cuts and bruises, Diane landed with such force she broke two vertebrae.

The carer was rushed by ambulance to an emergency medical centre before being transferred to the Greek mainland for pain relief.

The mother-of-two believed she was covered by her travel insurance, but when she contacted her provider was told quadbikes weren’t covered as part of the policy.

Diane was given pain relief but couldn’t afford the £40,000 operation, so instead borrowed £28,000 to fly home in an air ambulance on September 30.

Now at Diane’s bedside as she awaits surgery, Mick is urging holidaymakers to always check the small print on their insurance to avoid the same thing happening to them.

Diane, from Studley, Warwickshire, said: ‘I felt a jump in my back and I don’t remember anything else. All I remember is waking up on the road.

‘He [the car driver] wasn’t watching the road and didn’t have time to slow down.

‘I was in and out of consciousness, I didn’t have the energy to speak to anybody when I woke up.

‘I tried to be strong but I’m so frightened, I feel like I’m going to die.’

Diane and Mick believed their holiday insurance covered quadbikes, but only realised once they tried to claim that they weren’t.

A GoFundMe has been created to help Diane and Mick with the medical and travel costs.

The mother said she is terrified about undergoing the operation and vowed to never travel abroad again.

Diane said: ‘It’s just been one thing after another, I will not be going abroad again, no way.

‘Mick has been brave and tried to put a smile on my face. I’m scared of the operation, everyone is telling me it’s going to be okay.’

Now, Mick is urging holidaymakers to check the details of their holiday insurance.

Mick said: ‘Check your insurance before you rent a quadbike. We were mistaken in thinking insurance covered quadbikes too.’

It comes after a British father was hit with a £30,000 medical bill after being admitted to hospital while on holiday in Spain.

READ MORE: ‘Helpless’ British dad stung by £30,000 medical bill in Spain – after failing to disclose illness

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