Edinburgh family going through 'hell' as mum left in coma after being hit by SUV on holiday
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Jane Rubens, 73, remains in a coma after she was hit by a large SUV-type car in St Louis, Missouri, on November 1 and has had multiple brain surgeries in the past few weeks.
Her daughter, Cat Rubens, said insurance company AXA Partners initially wanted to fly her home by tomorrow (November 27), despite several medical experts advising against it. She claimed they were told her mother’s insurance policy – which covered emergency medical care up to £15 million – would come to an end if they did not agree.
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Hide AdIn a post on X (formerly Twitter), Cat, who is a lawyer, explained what happened to her mum. She wrote: “I don’t often tweet about my personal life, but on 1st November, my mum Jane was hit by a large vehicle as a pedestrian in St. Louis, USA. She suffered a severe brain injury & remains in a coma in hospital.
“This thread is aimed squarely at my mum’s travel insurer, AXA, and their failure to take account of my mum’s best interests when considering repatriating her home to the UK.”


She continued: “My mum has had multiple brain surgeries in the past few weeks including a craniectomy to remove a piece of her skull. She now lacks capacity in all domains. I have power of attorney for her registered with @OPGScotland. I need to make decisions for her in her best interests.
“Despite this, AXA wrote to us this morning (24 Nov) to state that we had to agree to repatriate Jane this coming Wednesday 27 Nov or they would pull the cover for her medical expenses in the USA. They said we had to give them our agreement for repatriation by this afternoon.”
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Hide AdCat added: “As you can imagine, the past few weeks have been hell for me and my family. We are out in America, trying our best to support her.”
AXA Partners has since apologised to Jane and her family. In a statement, they said they were “sorry for the distress Ms Rubens and her family have experienced when making a claim and we sympathise with their situation. We have spoken with Ms Rubens’ family and will remain in contact with them over the coming days to support them.
“Our medical team and Ms Rubens’ treating doctors will agree the best course of action going forward. We are considering all available options and the welfare of Ms Rubens and her family remains our priority.”
Cat says the family will only fly her mother back to Edinburgh when it is in her medical best interests. “The key issue for me is not about whether she is technically fit to fly from A to B in one piece right now.
“From an aviation medicine perspective, it’s about whether this is the right time for her to be flown long haul across the globe when she has a traumatic brain injury.”
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