The Dubai Civil Court has upheld a decision by the Insurance Disputes Settlement and Resolution Committee, mandating an insurance company to compensate a young man with 50,000 dirhams for damages resulting from a collision caused by a woman driving a car insured by the company.
The affected man initially contested the committee's ruling, seeking compensation amounting to two million dirhams, arguing that the awarded amount failed to adequately cover his losses, particularly in light of a sports contract he held with a local club.
The case unfolded with the insurance company challenging the committee's decision in the Civil Court of First Instance in Dubai, contesting the compensation amount, and filing a lawsuit seeking damages not exceeding 10,000 dirhams. The company's argument rested on the premise that once a final criminal verdict is issued against a vehicle driver, any further appeal regarding their culpability is precluded. Consequently, the defendant lodged a complaint with the Insurance Disputes Settlement and Resolution Committee, demanding the higher compensation sum.
Following a review of the complaint, the committee ruled in favor of the plaintiff, compelling the insurance company to pay 50,000 dirhams to the defendant. Dissatisfied with this outcome, the company appealed the decision, citing legal irregularities, flawed reasoning, and arbitrary compensation allocation. Meanwhile, the aggrieved party pursued a civil lawsuit, insisting on the two million dirhams compensation claim, contending that the committee's ruling inadequately redressed his losses. He provided medical reports attesting to his injuries and a contract with a local club as evidence.
The plaintiff also sought to include the car driver as an additional defendant in the lawsuit, holding her jointly responsible with the insurance company for expenses and legal fees. However, the driver objected to her inclusion, arguing that the insurance company bore the accident's consequences. After careful consideration of the case, the court affirmed the insurance company's liability for compensating the accident victim for all damages, both material and non-material.
The court deemed the awarded compensation fair and rejected both appeals, upholding the committee's decision. Furthermore, the court disregarded the plaintiff's request for a medical examination by the Forensic Medicine Department, deeming the attached medical reports sufficient as they did not indicate any disability percentage.
