Abu Dhabi court orders amusement park company to pay Dh25,000 compensation after six-year-old girl suffers leg fractures

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Court has ordered an amusement park company to pay Dh25,000 in compensation to a father and his daughter after the six-year-old suffered multiple fractures and injuries to her leg while on an amusement park ride. The company had previously been criminally convicted and fined Dh30,000 over the incident, bringing the total financial penalties to Dh55,000. The father filed a lawsuit against the company seeking Dh100,000 in compensation for the material, moral, psychological and emotional harm suffered by him and his daughter. He also sought legal interest of 9% from the date the lawsuit was filed, as well as legal costs, expenses, lawyers’ fees and civil claim fees. According to the lawsuit, the girl was attending an event with her family and went on an amusement park ride with her eight-year-old brother. The operators refused to allow her to be accompanied by an escort despite her young age. After the ride started, the girl’s left leg became caught in one of its iron components, causing multiple fractures and other injuries. The father said those responsible did not immediately stop the ride or call an ambulance, forcing him to take his daughter to a hospital emergency department himself. A medical report found that she had sustained a closed fracture of the left tibia and injuries to the knee area, including bruising, dislocation of the kneecap, swelling and restricted movement. Her injuries were described as “severe” and required a splint, restricted movement and medical follow-up. The father argued that the accident resulted from negligence by the company and those operating the ride, as well as a failure to take the necessary safety and precautionary measures to protect children. He said his daughter suffered physical and psychological pain and that her ability to walk and move normally was affected. He maintained that the accident caused both material and moral harm to his daughter and himself. In its reasoning, the court said the defendant company had been criminally convicted as a legally responsible entity after one of its representatives caused the child’s injuries through negligence and a failure to exercise the required care and caution. The criminal court imposed a fine of Dh30,000. The civil court noted that “the error for which the defendant was convicted is the same on which the plaintiff based the lawsuit, and it has thus made a necessary determination regarding the occurrence of the act constituting the common basis between the criminal and civil cases and regarding the legal description of this act and its attribution to its perpetrator”. The court found that the company’s negligence had harmed the child’s physical integrity and caused moral damage in the form of pain, sorrow and grief to both the girl and her father. It ordered the company to pay the father, in his personal capacity and as guardian of his minor daughter, Dh25,000 in comprehensive compensation. The company was also ordered to pay court fees and expenses, as well as Dh500 in lawyers’ fees.