For Jacob Fleig’s family, getting him home is a major part of the crisis. Fleig, a Berlin Township man from Camden County, remains in intensive care in Italy after a roughly 98-foot jump from a bridge at Fiordo di Furore on Oct. 5, while his family is raising money for medical bills, transport to the United States and recovery care, NJ.com reported.
The report says Fleig underwent multiple lifesaving procedures and surgeries after the incident, which happened while he was vacationing with his fiancée. His brother, Jimmy Dorner, started the fundraiser; the report describes stabilization and eventual transport home as priorities. It does not specify the family’s insurance coverage or the final cost of transport.
Overseas medical costs can leave families with gaps
Medicare coverage abroad is limited, according to Medicare.gov, which says travelers may choose travel insurance for more coverage. That general guidance does not establish what coverage, if any, applies to Fleig’s care.
A historical measure of one possible source of federal assistance is limited, too: a U.S. Department of State budget document recorded 1,068 repatriation-loan cases processed abroad in fiscal year 2012. The figure does not identify how many involved medical emergencies or transport, so it cannot indicate how often families in situations like Fleig’s rely on such loans. The department’s document provides no case-specific information about Fleig.
A separate Italian cliff-jumping death
The risks of cliff-jumping have also appeared in a separately reported case elsewhere in Italy. The Independent reported that Francesco Aronica died after hitting a rock while cliff-jumping in Polignano a Mare, in the Puglia region, on Aug. 17. That was a different incident and location; it does not establish a trend or show a common cause with Fleig’s injuries.
