Confusion over who will pay for paralysed maid

DUBAI // A Filipina maid left paralysed after a hit-and-run accident more than seven months ago has lost her insurance coverage because she was crossing the road illegally when she was knocked down, according to Philippine consulate officials. Baikan Musa, 29, was left with severe head injuries when a speeding car struck her and two friends near the Clock Tower in Deira last New Year's Eve. She is unable to walk or breathe unaided, can communicate only by blinking and has been lying in a Rashid Hospital bed since the accident.

It is unclear who is liable for Ms Musa's medical expenses, which stand at Dh15,000 (US$4,080). Rashid Hospital says that by law her medical bills should be covered either by her sponsor, or by the agency which recruited her to work as a maid in Dubai. However, Ms Musa's sponsor cancelled her contract days before she was injured. According to the Philippine Consulate in Dubai, the agency that initially hired her also claims it is not liable for her costs.

"They said the insurance would not cover the costs of her medical bill because she had crossed the road illegally at the time of the accident, instead of using the pedestrian crossing," said a consular official. Rashid Hospital said claims in the media and the Philippines that Ms Musa had been abandoned and remained unidentified were untrue. Medical staff insisted she had been well cared for by the nurses and volunteers who had been visiting her on a regular basis.

"We have been taking good care of her, giving her baths every day, sitting with her," said Rowena Hulgange, a nurse who has taken care of Ms Musa for the past four months. Her patient lies quietly in a bed next to a window overlooking the hospital grounds. At her bedside are photographs of her family and of her, carefree and smiling, before the accident. A large yellow teddy bear sits on her bedside table.

"It's wrong to say she has been abandoned," said Salwa Mohammed, a hospital administrative officer who has followed Ms Musa's case from the beginning. "We are doing our best to take care of her, but no one notices the huge efforts of the work carried out by our nurses." Contrary to reports that no contact had been made with her family in the Philippines, Ms Mohammed explained that Ms Musa's family, too, have had to deal with their own problems.

"Their house was damaged by the cyclone that hit the Philippines a few months ago, and they are very poor, so it has not been until now that her brother was able to obtain a passport to leave and visit Ms Musa," she said. Her brother is expected to arrive on Aug 22, after which the hospital will have a clearer idea of what will become of her. "The hospital will not give her a clearance certificate to say she can travel until they are certain that they know she will be taken care of in Manila," said Ms Mohammed. "So far we have only had a verbal acceptance from a hospital in the Philippines, so we're waiting for an official acceptance before we consider moving her."

The consular official confirmed that Ms Musa was receptive and aware of her surroundings, deeming her fit to travel. "When I visited her last week she could respond to questions by blinking. She still needs therapy though, because she can't speak, but I think she is fit to travel." @Email:[e-mail]