‘Unmanageable pain’: US backpacker faces huge medical bill after terrible Hobart hostel accident

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: A woman visiting Hobart on a working visa is facing a devastating medical bill after being seriously burned in a hostel kitchen fire.

An American backpacker has been left with a crippling medical bill after suffering severe burns in a freak accident at a Hobart hostel.

Brianna Jonovitch was hospitalised with second to third degree burns to more than 11 per cent of her body after the horror incident in May.

Ms Jonovitch was cooking in a shared kitchen at the hostel when an unattended stove top set the back of her shirt on fire, leaving her with burns on her hands, underarms, chest and close to her entire back.

The 30-year-old, who is in Australia on a working visa, said she was in between insurance plans and had no medical coverage at the time of the action.

American backpacker Brianna Jonovitch suffered horror burns to her back and underarms while staying in a Hobart hostel. Picture: Supplied

Ms Jonovitch’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover her extensive medical costs after she spent three nights at Royal Hobart Hospital and made regular visits to the Alfred Hospital burns unit in Melbourne, where she has temporarily moved to live with her sister.

She said her first instinct after the horror incident was to “avoid going into serious debt”.

Brianna Jonovitch suffered severe burns to her back (pictured), with the worst under her left arm.

Brianna Jonovitch suffered severe burns to her back. Picture taken one week after the incident.

“I knew I didn’t have medical coverage when the accident occurred … I asked the people who witnessed it not to call an ambulance but they did anyway,” Ms Jonovitch said.

“I’m incredibly thankful for whoever called the ambulance because with burns, how quickly you get treatment can hugely affect how severe the burns will be or how bad the scarring is, and as soon as the adrenaline wore off I was in an unmanageable amount of pain.”

It was complicated to navigate an overseas healthcare system with serious injuries, Ms Jonovitch said, but she added she was grateful for support from Hobart health workers.

“Everyone I dealt with from the ambulance nurses to the hospital doctors were incredibly kind and thoughtful in their interactions with me,” she said.

American backpacker Brianna Jonovitch suffered horrific burns while staying at a Hobart hostel last month.

“The doctors at Royal Hobart really seemed to go above and beyond their job requirements.

“I also had some lovely people from the hostel who I’d only known for a few weeks help me out a lot by bringing me things I needed … that was incredibly kind and unexpected.”

Ms Jonovitch had been in Tasmania for several months, enjoying hikes including the Overland Track.

She said the injury had been difficult for the rest of her family stranded in the US.

“I guess the worst part is just knowing that your family back home is worried and feels helpless.

“My family isn’t wealthy enough to be able to jump on a plane and come straight over so it was very hard for them.”

Originally published as ‘Unmanageable pain’: US backpacker faces huge medical bill after terrible Hobart hostel accident