Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Fatialofa tweet raises fresh concerns over hefty medical treatment bill

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Former Worcester Warriors lock Michael Fatialofa has hinted that the disagreement over his medical bills has not been resolved. The 28-year-old was hit with a six-figure medical bill in July last year after spending months in hospital to recover from the broken neck he sustained during a match in January 2020 at Saracens. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Worcester co-owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham released a statement shortly after he received the bill. It said: “We are concerned and disappointed to hear that Michael has received a bill for unpaid medical fees. There are no unpaid fees owed by the club. Our booking made by RugbyCare has already been paid in full.

“But we will work closely with the hospital and local clinical commissioning group to understand any issues and help resolve the situation to ensure that Michael can concentrate solely on his rehabilitation at Sixways with the full and continued support of the club.”

Video Spacer

RugbyPass covers the exceptional story of Matt Hampson and his foundation

RugbyPass has followed the incredible story of ex-professional rugby player Matt Hampson, who was paralysed from the neck down following a scrummaging accident while training with the England U21s in March 2005. 
In the latest documentary in our Exceptional Stories series, we learn about the 35-year-old prop’s incredible journey since his devastating injury 15 years ago at Franklin’s Gardens.
Featuring contributions from a host of rugby legends such as Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson, as well as actor James Corden, the compelling narrative culminates in a behind-the-scenes visit to the Matt Hampson Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre in Melton Mowbray where the ex-Leicester Tigers front row now helps others who suffer life-changing injuries in sport.

Video Spacer

RugbyPass covers the exceptional story of Matt Hampson and his foundation

RugbyPass has followed the incredible story of ex-professional rugby player Matt Hampson, who was paralysed from the neck down following a scrummaging accident while training with the England U21s in March 2005. 
In the latest documentary in our Exceptional Stories series, we learn about the 35-year-old prop’s incredible journey since his devastating injury 15 years ago at Franklin’s Gardens.
Featuring contributions from a host of rugby legends such as Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson, as well as actor James Corden, the compelling narrative culminates in a behind-the-scenes visit to the Matt Hampson Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre in Melton Mowbray where the ex-Leicester Tigers front row now helps others who suffer life-changing injuries in sport.

However, Fatialofa posted a tweet on Tuesday which suggested his medical bills still have not been covered. “Hopefully the Worcester Warriors will finally pay my hospital bill this year,” Fatialofa wrote. 

The former Hurricanes forward spent four months at the private Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital after suffering a C4 vertebrae fracture and spinal contusion in London which left him paralysed from the neck down. He was to be transferred to the NHS Stoke Mandeville hospital but, with no beds available at that facility, he spent the next three months in private care.

Fatialofa was apparently charged for his treatment despite the Warriors being told that the remaining medical fees would be covered by the clinical commission group, which allows National Health Service patients to receive private health care when no public health service is available.

His recovery has been chronicled over the past year and he returned to Worcester in June to continue his rehabilitation at Sixways.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 3 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

286 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future
Search