Amex clears itself in probe over Kiwi's death in Egypt

By ALISON HORWOOD

The family of the architect who died while holidaying in Egypt are still demanding answers from American Express, despite the insurer saying it did everything possible to save his life.

In a letter to the editor of the Herald, American Express New Zealand country manager Anna Hynes said that after investigating its efforts to save John Fitzgerald, "it is apparent that we moved as expeditiously as possible to send medical supplies and an aircraft to evacuate Mr Fitzgerald."

Mr Fitzgerald, a 28-year-old former Wellington architect who had lived in London for more than a year, died on December 30 in an air ambulance on route to Europe. He fell ill with meningococcal septicaemia while in southern Egypt.

The air ambulance arrived 26 hours after his companions rang the American Express hotline.

Anna Hynes said that considering the seriousness of the illness, American Express overcame considerable hurdles, including obtaining clearance from certain Governments, and assembling an inoculated crew, to transport someone with a contagious illness.

"While we are profoundly sorry that our efforts and those of others involved in trying to save Mr Fitzgerald did not succeed, we do not believe there was more we could have done in the circumstances."

Sally Fitzgerald, Mr Fitzgerald's sister and a London-based lawyer, said she had asked American Express for a copy of its internal investigation and, if possible, a copy or transcripts of all its phone calls.

The Fitzgeralds - Sally Fitzgerald in Europe and her parents in Manakau, near Levin - spent 40 hours making calls to specialists and American Express after Mr Fitzgerald fell ill.

"If they have nothing to hide, I can't see why they would not provide me with these things," Sally Fitzgerald said. "I would love to believe they did everything as expeditiously as possible because they would eliminate the what-ifs the family have.

"What if they had got there sooner?"

She said her brother came up against a "litany of disasters" and her complaints were three-fold between the tour company - Egypt On The Go - which allegedly abandoned him, American Express and the Egyptian medical authorities.

Mr Fitzgerald was travelling with a friend, Dr Sandra Bennett, who had diagnosed him correctly, but doctors in Aswan refused to listen to her for several hours, would not give essential antibiotics and would not allow her to make toll calls for help.