Wheelchair-bound cook wins Dh1 million compensation for accident

A wheelchair-bound Indian cook who was partially paralysed after a road accident on Dubai Bypass Road will receive Dh1 million as compensation from an insurance company.

Abdul Kabeer, 44, is wheelchair bound after he sustained severe physical injuries in a road accident when he was travelling with two colleagues in their vehicle from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah.  The vehicle, in which Kabeer was sitting on the rear seat, overturned, damaging his backbone. The accident happened on March 1, 2012  when Kabeer was going to see a relative who ran a grocery shop.

In the  accident,  two Emiratis, who were seated seat belted in the front, escaped without serious injuries but Kabeer was severely injured as he was not wearing a seat belt.

Kabeer, now undergoing medical treatment in India, will get Dh1 million in compensation and 9 per cent interest on the amount from Al Saqr Insurance Company. Kabeer had worked as a cook in an Abu Dhabi government department for 17 years.

“Kabaeer was depressed and crying when he left  for India for follow-up treatment. He could not sit even on a wheelchair and was flown home lying on a bed.

His physical damage is 100 per cent, as his both legs are paralysed due to severe damage of the backbone. Now he is very happy because he can use the money to survive,” said Advocate Shamsudeen Karunagapally from Al Kabayan Advocates and Legal Consultants, who took his power of attorney from his Rashid Hospital bed.

He said the judgment of the Dubai Court of First Instance that gave Dh1 million as compensation is a rare one. Kabeer and his family members here and back home in Kannur, Kerala, were happy to hear the news, he added. Kabeer cannot move around freely and needs support to get up from the bed or to sit on the wheelchair.

Kabeer was  in Al Rashid Hospital for three months and then went to India for further treatment at a private hospital in Coimbatore.

The compensation claim was filed by Al Kabayan Advocates and Legal Consultants and the legal firm sought Dh2 million as compensation for the physical injury and huge medical expenses incurred by the accident victim.

The legal firm told the  Dubai Court that Kabeer would spend rest of his life on a wheelchair or will be bedridden and that with his paralysis, the source of income for his poor family had completely stopped. Kabeer has two children and a wife who were dependent on him for survival. Kabeer also had to spend a lot of money for treatment here and in India.

Shamsudeen said there were some instances when the victims of work site or road accidents got more than Dh1 million compensation.

 

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