Foreigner slips and breaks his neck on mossy seawall steps at Thailand beach

A 55 year old foreign man slipped on some mossy steps and “broke bones in his neck” at Cha-am Beach in Phetchaburi province, Thailand, his wife reported on Friday.

On Friday, the Facebook page ‘Beach for life‘ was contacted by a Thai woman seeking justice for her foreign husband who is still being treated in hospital after an incident at Cha-am Beach on March 19.

In the late evening, the foreign man was walking along the beach when he slipped on the steps of the seawall which are covered in moss.

She said there are no lights in the area and no warning signs to say the steps could be slippery, causing her husband to slip, hit his head, and break bones in his neck. Nearly one month later, he is recovering but is still at Ratchaburi Hospital where he continues to receive treatment for his injuries.

The woman said she wants the owner of the seawall project to accept responsibility for the incident. So far, there has been no remedy from the project owner, “who has changed the environment at Cha-am beach into a dangerous, moss-filled seawall,” she told ‘Beach for life.’

Her husband is “the head of the family,” she said. Since the incident, she doesn’t know what the future holds for the family, she added.

Cha-am Beach Seawall Construction Project in Phetchaburi province is operated by the Department of Public Works & Town and Country Planning.

Two of the three phases of the project have been completed already. The project is a reinforced concrete seawall. Waves continually hit the wall, causing moss to grow. However, there are no signs warning beachgoers of the slippery moss, said the injured man’s wife.

The woman hopes that the Department of Public Works compensates for the damages caused to her husband and makes the seawall safe to prevent this from happening to anyone else.

‘Beach for life’ wrote a statement detailing five requests for the department:

1. Take full responsibility for the incident
2. Cover the damages and heal the injured
3. Take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again
4. Seek measures to mitigate risks from the implementation of other projects under the department
5. Do not push the responsibility of managing the seawall and other projects over to locals who may not have the potential, budget or personnel, or knowledge to manage the structures built by the department.