Dow Chemical Company abandons employee left brain dead after negligent medical operation in UAE

Imran Hussain, husband and father of four, was rendered permanently brain damaged after Dubai’s Mediclinic malpractice during post-operative care, the family is claiming in court. He was working in Dubai for American multinational Dow Chemical, after having been head-hunted when the incident occurred and was responsible for bringing in new clients and cashflow for the company. He is now permanently incapacitated, unable to support his family and is himself, being sued by Mediclinic, who instructed Al Tamimi law firm to represent them, for the additional hospital bills of AED 1,300,000. To top it off his employer has, despite pleas, terminated his employment and therefore, residency visa, leaving him facing deportation. The family is suing Mediclinic for negligence and battling the UAE judicial system and its flaws.

His legal team advise that while Imran was a patient there, he underwent successful heart surgery. However during the post-care procedures oxygen was cut off to his brain, leaving him in a vegetative state and needing 24hr care for the rest of this life.

Despite entering into extensive correspondence with his family and legal team, Dow Chemical Company has terminated Imran’s employment and removed his visa.

His family and legal team are appalled at the local leadership of Dow’s decision to terminate Imran’s employment and remove support for his visa at this very critical time. Dow have also taken Imran’s brother, in absentia, to a Labour court to retrieve his brother’s passport. This has added more worry to their desperate situation.

During several meetings with Dow, it has transpired that their reasons for removing contact and support are that Imran is no longer a productive employee. It is hard to imagine a more inhumane way to describe someone permanently brain damaged due to medical negligence.

Imran is now expected to re-apply for a visa on humanitarian grounds. This is expected to be a very difficult process because of the nature of Dubai politics and conflicts of interest associated to this case.

Imran’s family and medical support team have begged Dow to continue his visa (based on special "humanitarian" circumstances) until his legal case regarding the malpractice is resolved and steps can be taken to repatriate him to the care of his brother in Bahrain, but this has been refused.

Helping Imran through these horribly difficult and uncertain times would have shown the world that Dow Chemical care about their staff. Their other employees would see how they can expect support from their employer, should they be caught in a similar situation.

Instead, these actions send an ugly message to anyone employed by Dow in Dubai that should they become “unproductive” due to a medical tragedy, they will be dumped regardless of the circumstances.

Dow have not responded to our correspondence. Imran is now abandoned in a hospital far from home facing the real possibility of becoming an illegal immigrant.

He faces an uncertain future as a newly disabled person. In any other country in the world, a disabled person would be given extra help, and greater consideration. Instead Imran has been cut off by a huge multinational corporation and his rights are being slowly eroded, while he is literally powerless to help himself.

Radha Stirling CEO of Detained in Dubai and managing partner at law firm Stirling Haigh who are representing the family, has said in a statement, “We hoped that Dow, knowing the very unusual situation that Imran is in, would have demonstrated care towards to one of their top employees. Terminating his employment and thus visa, has placed Imran in a very risky situation as far as UAE law goes, as if it wasn’t already bad enough for him and his family. Dow has been lobbied by Imrans family, ourselves and a range of American medical professionals to support Imran throughout this ordeal. However all pleas have fallen on deaf ears and no replies have been received to Detained in Dubai’s communications. Dow should come forward and show that they care for their staff and assist his support teams in their quest for justice for Imran.”