ABU DHABI // The Indonesian Embassy says it may seek compensation for a nanny who was left permanently disabled after a road collision that killed three of her employer's children. "If her sponsor will not take further action against the driver of the car, we will open a case under the name of the embassy," said Hannan Hadi, the head of the consular section.
He said the 24-year-old nanny, who is still in a coma at the female surgical ward of Zayed Military Hospital, is unlikely to recover and will not have any chance to earn a living to support her family in Central Java. She had worked for the family for 18 months before she was struck by a car near the Carrefour supermarket on Airport Road on June 29. The three girls, aged seven, six and four, died in the collision.
They were the daughters of Salem al Mansouri. The collision triggered The National's Road to Safety campaign. "The sponsor is also a victim in this case because he lost his three daughters in the accident," Mr Hadi said. "The embassy will follow up the status of the case with the public prosecution and the court and explore our legal options." He said he would consult with the ministry of foreign affairs in Jakarta before taking any action.
"We will seek advice from Jakarta about the possibility of sending her home to continue her treatment," he said. "It will be very costly but we also hope to discuss this with the hospital authorities, the police and public prosecution." The discussions will focus on the logistics and risks involved in transporting her to Jakarta, the cost and the kind of treatment required, and the possibility of arranging the flight of the nanny's relatives to Abu Dhabi.
If the patient needed to be sent home, the embassy would have to seek permission from the police and the public prosecution but the case against the driver had to continue, Mr Hadi said. "We need to get a written report of the patient's current medical condition and the hospital's recommendations. "We have to find out if we need to reserve one row of seats for her in a commercial flight or if she requires an air ambulance to take her to Jakarta."
He said a member of the embassy staff who visited the nanny last Tuesday reported that the woman was still in a coma and that doctors did not believe her condition would improve. "The doctor and nurses have done everything they could to provide the best treatment and care," he said. The nanny underwent a tracheotomy, a procedure to assist her breathing, at the hospital in July. She was later transferred from the intensive care unit to the female surgical ward.
The hospital had not asked the embassy to pay the cost of the woman's care but had earlier recommended that the patient be moved to another hospital, Mr Hadi said. Two other nannies, aged 22 and 24, who suffered minor injuries in the same incident, are still working for their Emirati employer, according to Lely Meiliani, the first secretary at the embassy. So far, the two women have not been summoned by court to testify in the incident's case.
"The usual procedure is for the court to inform the embassy that it would need an interpreter during the hearing or for us to extend consular services to our compatriots," Ms Meiliani said. rruiz@thenational.ae
