Irish family in limbo as six-year Qatari court battle drags on over daughter’s burns

Elizabeth Soffe was two years old when her family’s villa in Al-Waab in Doha caught fire. She suffered third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body. (Screenshot/ITV)

• Elizabeth Soffe suffered terrible injuries aged two in fire blamed on rental company’s poor maintenance
• Parents say they can’t afford her treatment after appeal ruling cuts original compensation from $4m to less than $2m

DUBAI: An Irish couple whose daughter suffered severe injuries in a Qatari villa fire face another grueling chapter in a six-year court battle after their compensation was cut in half after an appeal by the firm blamed for the blaze.
Elizabeth Soffe was two years old when her family’s villa in Al-Waab caught fire. She suffered third-degree burns to 60 percent of her body, lost fingers, her hair, part of her nose and an ear and needs lifelong expensive treatment.
However, her parents Liam and Sinead, who now live in the UK, have been told that an initial $4.11 million compensation ruling by a Qatari court has been cut to about $1.98 million in a second ruling, which they say leaves them without enough to pay for Elizabeth’s care.
“They rejected [costs for] all future treatment – operations and prosthetics,” her father told The Guardian. “She has had 70-80 operations on the NHS, and she will probably need at least another two every year until she’s an adult.
“We’ve spent about £25,000 on court fees so far. UK solicitors (say) that if the case was heard here, the compensation would be between £8 million and £10 million. (In Qatar) there’s almost no consideration of what we would consider … mental health and trauma.”
Elizabeth’s parents lodged a lawsuit in 2017 against Al-Asmakh Real Estate Development, which managed their villa, after two years of attempts to reach an informal settlement failed.
Al-Asmakh was last year ordered to pay QR15 million ($4.11 million) in compensation after a court-appointed fire expert said that the blaze was caused by either a faulty electrical supply or poor maintenance of an air conditioning unit.
However, the company appealed and had the case moved to the rental disputes settlement committee, a lower court, which overturned the original ruling and lowered compensation to around $1.98 million.
Both the Soffes and the Al-Asmakh have appealed against the latest ruling. The case is due to be heard in February.
“All we want is for Elizabeth to be taken care of, so that she has a life and opportunities,” said Soffe.