The Emirates Palace Hotel, Kempinski Hotels and Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company (ADNIC) have been ordered to pay AED 200,000 (US $54,450) to former guest Natalie Creane after a weekend break turned into a five-year-long, ongoing fight for survival for the 33-year old Brit.
Creane was staying with her husband and stepson at the five-star Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi in July 2008, when she opened the door to the wardrobe in her room and a loose wooden panel covering the AV unit fell, hitting her on the temporal lobe (the front part of her head), according to an account of the incident published on the ‘Justice for Natalie’ Facebook page.
The Facebook page, which was set up by her family in 2012 and has 23,930 supporters, says Creane was found by a hotel staff member. Rather than calling an ambulance, the hotel’s duty manager drove her to a nearby hospital.
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“With no prior history of such problems, she began to suffer from horrendous seizures and was suffering from the horrendous effects of a major concussion and was, therefore, incapacitated for months and months.”
Creane has since been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Intractable Refractory Epilepsy and Traumatic Brain Injury.
“Her seizures cause her to collapse suddenly and she has frequently sustained serious injuries during these seizures, including broken bones and fractures,” said the family.
“She has been in five comas and on ventilators, had blood clots in her lung and leg, extreme blood toxicity, paralysis, temporary loss of sight, massive hair loss, severe debilitating headaches, temporary loss of speech, confusion, permanent memory loss, insomnia, constant infections due to suppressed immunity and over 20 stays in intensive care.
“Natalie [a former regional director for a global company] has lost her career, her independence and has had over 45 admissions to hospitals over the last four years, many via emergency,” they added.
Following the incident, the Emirates Palace referred Creane’s family to its insurance company, but after talks broke down two years later, they were referred to the hotel’s lawyer in 2010. A court decision was finally reached on February 27, 2013.
The $54,450 to be paid by the three guilty parties, Emirates Palace, Kempinski Hotels and ADNIC, is to cover Creane's past "medical bills, future life-long care and bills, and treatment, loss of earnings in the past and until she reaches retirement age and emotional damages". An additional $54.45 was awarded to cover legal fees.
The verdict is being appealed by Creane’s family who believe the compensation is insufficient, as Creane lies in another induced coma in Rashid Hospital, Dubai.
A post by Creane’s mother on the Facebook page on March 3, 2013, said: “This is the sixth time since the accident in the Kempinski-managed hotel in 2008 that my wonderful girl has been put in this life-threatening situation following terrifying seizures that will not stop.
“Today, I watched her as she fell into a coma, her face was grey - she could not speak, her beautiful eyes were unseeing. I could not believe that this was happening to her again. I watched as her broken-hearted dad helped the paramedics lift her onto a stretcher and into the ambulance. I sat in the ambulance and watched over my girl as it sped through the streets in this land so far from home. Now I must watch the face of her beloved husband as he returns from her side to try to rest. How much longer can my girl go through this. I am terrified that I may watch her die," Creane's mother continued.
“Those whose negligence has caused her this pain and put her life in danger could have saved her from this suffering nearly five years ago. They have been found guilty by the law of this land but they have watched her suffer for five years and have done nothing - and still they do nothing. They have no shame, no conscious and no heart. The world must know how she has been treated by these heartless people and they must be forced to do the right thing by her. I have watched as my daughter's life has been ruined, along with the lives of those who love her. Shame on you - you know who you are - the world is watching you.”
In a statement sent to Hotelier Middle East today (March 6) but dated February 27, the hotel’s operator said: “Kempinski Hotels respectfully notes the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance's ruling of 27 February 2013 in the case of Natalie Smith vs Emirates Palace Hotel and will study carefully with our legal team the full written judgment once we receive it in the coming days”.
According to Creane’s family, she urgently needs to receive specialist neurological help in a centre that specialises in traumatic brain injuries and such serious cases of post traumatic Epilepsy .
“This costs hundreds of thousands of pounds/dollars and surgery even more. She needs to have her medications assessed and have specialist cognitive therapy amongst many many other types of urgent treatment,” said the family.
Today, Creane’s family posted a link to a fundraising page calling for public donations.
“We have avoided this for so long but we cannot wait any longer. We need to pay for Natalie’s healthcare and we need to pay for her urgent current treatment now.The JFN team in the UK have set up a donation page… The Family has always been strongly against this but the situation has forced friends to take this action," the post said.
"We have to keep Natalie alive.”
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Mar 11, 2013 , United Kingdom
Absolutely disgusting - so many lives ruined by this incident, and the financial award isn't nearly enough to cover expenses let alone offer any kind of compensation.
Mar 6, 2013 , Canada
This is why you don't stay in the Kempinski anywhere or visit the UAE. Lax laws that allow anyone (as long as they are local) to get away with murder.