RIP Sarah Burke

[mattola]

well ... her official facebook page has the same link and the province.com does to so maybe perry isnt so informed

best to be careful than not.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

best to be careful than not.

no doubt ... bogus charity cases always seem to emerge in these types of tragedies

 

[jstewismybastardson]

question on twitter posed by former cdn olympian Marnie McBean that is worth retweeting

Why isn't @MonsterEnergy paying #SarahBurke's medical bill? Where's their insurance & support now?

 

[sabresfaninthesouth]

gotta remember she was still a quasi-amateur athlete ... dont know what her career earnings would have been ... there is hope that sponsors insurance will cover some portion of the expenses (below)

Burke’s agent and publicist have helped the family, which has declined interview requests, set up a fundraising initiative — Raise Money For Medical Expenses To Support Rory Bushfield — to help them with the reported $550,000 in hospital costs.

While the CFSA carries insurance for all its athletes, the policy does not cover athletes competing in events that are not a sanctioned part of the association’s program. In this case, Burke was taking part in an event put on by sponsor, Monster Energy.

Judge said he would be surprised if Monster, which sponsors many action sports events in the U.S., did not have some kind of insurance coverage.

Judge said there may be “some portals and avenues” for the CFSA to assist the family, adding that the organization has received several offers of help from the likes of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and even the Russian ski federation



Read more: Freestyle ski icon Sarah Burke ?lived life to the fullest,? dies nine days after crash

I would expect the same.

 

[rares]

Well, I'm pretty sure *some* of the costs had to have been covered because $550k is "too low" for the entire cost of all her medical bills, IMO.

Brain or heart surgery plus 3-4 days in ICU can easily result in one's insurance being billed that amount... the procedure(s) that she had done over a week+ (and don't forget the chopper ride) would result in much higher charges.

Regardless... yes, her husband/family should get help in paying SOME of the bills... after the hospital/insurance give them a discount on the charges or whatever.

 

[forty_three]

I'd be surprised that someone in her line of work wouldn't have some type of insurance that would cover just such a thing.

The sad reality is that the individual athletes don't have a lot of insurance personally. Their sponsors and the event sponsors carry insurance, but it's really just to "protect their investment". Her sponsors and the venue will probably not have much problem, financially.

The athletes don't have jobs in the traditional sense, so they don't get benefits extended to them. They are under contract with their sponsor, but they are not employees. And anyone who has a full time job doesn't have the time to dedicate to the sport. It's seriously why I quit. Injuries were bad, dealing with Insurance was worse.

It's actually why a lot of BMX and skateboard guys started their own companies in the late 80's. They became too old to stay on their parent's insurance and they couldn't get covered any other way. By becoming a "CEO", they could get coverage for themselves. Mat Hoffman would have bankrupted himself and his parents when he tried the mega-ramp the first time and put himself in a coma.

 

[mattola]

Fallen ski champ Sarah Burke to enter Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

 

[DChero]

Fallen ski champ Sarah Burke to enter Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs

As she should be. I was heavily in the bmx scene a few years back. The whole action sports community is one of the closest families that you'll ever see. My prayers are with her family.