Paralysed Abu Dhabi motorist compensated Dh1.5m

A driver who crashed into a pile of sand at a construction site is awarded Dh1.5 million compensation because the company did not put up warning signs.

ABU DHABI // A motorcyclist who was left paralysed after crashing into a pile of sand at a construction site has been awarded, along with his family, more than Dh1.5 million in blood money and compensation.

The construction company was found liable for the man's injuries because it had failed to put up adequate warning signs. The man was left paralysed from the waist down.

The Misdemeanours Court sentenced the company to pay the man Dh880,000 in blood money and Dh500,000 in compensation, while a ruling by the Civil Appeals Court granted his family further compensation.

It granted his wife and daughters a further Dh100,000 for financial damages and Dh100,000 for emotional damages. It also granted his parents Dh10,000 for the sorrow they suffered over his condition.

It granted his daughters, aged between four to eight, Dh10,000 for the distress of seeing their father in his condition, and granted his wife Dh50,000 on the grounds that she would not be able to conceive again.

His wife and daughters had been seeking Dh2 million in compensation for the loss of their financial provider, but the First Instance Civil Court rejected this claim, reasoning that he had already been compensated by the Misdemeanours Court.

It ruled that as he was still alive there was no reason to compensate his family.

But the Civil Appeals Court overturned this decision, saying that the compensation paid to the man had no bearing on whether his family should receive further compensation.