Road Traffic Injuries and Accident Claims in Dubai-UAE

Being involved in a road traffic accident can leave you with anything from minor bruising to
serious head or spinal injuries. If unfortunately, you get involved in a horrific road accident in
Dubai, which was not in any way your fault, then you may be entitled for a compensation claim
against personal injury. In a situation where the accident occurred while travelling in a taxi, bus
or train then you may be entitled to claim from an insurance company. But with respect to
personal injury claims, there is always the problem of the claiming compensation amount. In this
article, we will provide a brief overview of how court procedures in Dubai influence the
compensation claimed and factors which may come into play while the proceedings.

By virtue of Art 282, 283 and 284 of the Federal Law No. 5 regarding Civil Transactions of 1985,
road accidents causing personal injury in Dubai will fall under tortuous liability and the damages
are calculated based entirely on the direct or indirect connection between the party that commit
the act and injury party. The injured victim becomes entitled to all the damages and loss
incurred as a result of the accident which may include any damages to clothing, property,
psychological, and moral harm.
In Dubai, the amount of compensation varies from case to case and it depends on factors such
as:

The age of the injured party at the time of accident;

The moral sufferings he/she faced;

The victims income and the amount the victim spent on supporting his family;

The amount he/she spent on the medical reports and treatment;

The limit of harm inflicted to the aggrieved person;

Before awarding damages to the victim, the judge will take these above factors into
consideration and the amount to be paid is at the discretion of the judge. However, in order to
claim compensation by a victim, a fault needs to be established. Tortious liability consists of
three basic elements which includes fault, damage and a causal link. Events caused by itself is
not enough to create legal liability. And proving a fault and damages existed will often held to
entail a presumption of causation link which may be rebutted upon the intervention of a foreign
element. Another procedure of establishing causation is through but-for test which inquires
But for the defendants act, would the harm have occurred? It asks was it necessary for the
defendants act to have occurred for the harm to have occurred. The presumption may be
rebutted through the intervention of a foreign element, for example a third partys act, or a
victim contribution.

The concepts like negligence, duty of care and factual causation do not exist in the laws of
Dubai. Nonetheless, they exist in principle and are enforced regularly by the courts. One has to
go through the complex court proceedings so as to claim compensationwhich of course is
based solely at the courts discretion.