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AMMAN — Since he was hit by a car two years ago, Mahmoud Daana’s life has taken a dramatic turn, transforming him from the family’s main breadwinner into a man who cannot take a step without a walker and rarely leaves home.
The 64-year-old said he was hit by a car driven by an Egyptian diplomat while walking on the pavement in the capital’s Shmeisani neighbourhood in August 2012.
The accident caused “extreme” skin and bone damage to Daana’s left leg and ankle, which require surgery to piece the bones together, according to a medical report by the Royal Medical Services orthopaedic specialist who examined him.
“Nothing could be done at the time of the incident because the person who hit me enjoys diplomatic immunity,” he told The Jordan Times this week, noting that the diplomat covered medical expenses worth JD9,000, then moved back to Egypt.
A case against the diplomat was filed in court but was rejected by the prosecutor general because of his diplomatic immunity.
“I still have to undergo surgery that costs up to JD5,000,” Daana said, noting that the Egyptian embassy in Amman offered to pay for the operation on condition that he signs a liability waiver so that the embassy is not held accountable.
But Daana refuses to sign the waiver because he believes doing so would deprive him of his right to full treatment, especially in case of medical complications after the surgery.
The needed operation has been rescheduled three times due to the lack of funds, he said, citing doctors who told him that further delay could necessitate an amputation of the leg from the thigh.
Daana had retired from the National Electric Power Company two years before the incident took place, and started working at a shop in downtown Amman.
“My pension is around JD350 and the salary I used to get from the shop before the accident was JD300… I was able to make ends meet,” he said, adding that he is currently accumulating debts because of his inability to work.
One of his sons is a fifth-year medical student in Ukraine, while the other does not leave home due to a muscle disease.
“I borrow money from my friends and relatives to send to my son so he can finish his studies and return home to assist me, but I stopped paying for the physiotherapy treatment sessions for my 22-year-old son, causing deterioration in his situation.”
Nidal Alawneh, Daana’s newly hired lawyer, said he is willing to file a legal complaint against the Egyptian embassy in Amman this week to provide the needed treatment for his client, in addition to compensation for the physical and psychological damage the incident caused him.
Alawneh is also ready to file a complaint against the insurance company covering the car involved in the accident, as it announced bankruptcy, to seek some compensation.
“The incident caused Daana a 30 per cent disability, as he almost lost his left leg entirely,” the lawyer told The Jordan Times, adding that the diplomat’s immunity prevented Daana from receiving his legal rights of treatment.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf Khasawneh told The Jordan Times over the phone that the ministry has been following up on Daana’s case and arranged several meetings between him and officials from the Egyptian embassy in Amman.
“We cannot be involved in the issue as our main task is only to coordinate meetings between the concerned parties, but we also are keen to protect the rights of Jordanians and their health,” Khasawneh said, urging Daana to stay in contact with the ministry over his case.
Commenting on the incident, the Egyptian embassy’s media adviser, Ashraf Kilani, told The Jordan Times that the ambassador is ready to meet Daana and listen to what he has to say, expressing the embassy’s interest in resolving the issue.
Alawneh welcomed the offer, noting that the embassy already knows about the case.
Daana said he is ready to undergo the operation at the expense of any party or donor, but refuses to give up his rights.
