Abu Dhabi court orders drunk driver to repay insurer AED122,973 after accident

The Abu Dhabi Commercial Court of First Instance has ruled that a young man must pay AED122,973 to an insurance company as reimbursement for amounts it paid following a traffic accident he caused while driving under the influence of alcohol. The accident resulted in damage to public property and injuries to a passenger. The payments made by the insurer covered compensation for damages as well as ambulance and medical transport costs for the injured person. The insurance company filed a lawsuit against the young man, seeking AED122,973, along with legal interest of 5% per annum from the date the case was filed until full payment. It also requested fees, expenses and attorney fees. The company stated that the defendant had insured his vehicle with it under the unified third-party liability insurance policy. It said he caused a traffic accident while driving under the influence of alcohol, resulting in damage to public property and injury to one of the passengers. The company said it paid Dh116,203 as compensation for damage to public property, in addition to AED6,770 for ambulance and medical transport services provided to the injured passenger. This brought the total amount paid to AED122,973. It sought recovery of this amount from the person responsible for the accident. The court stated that the documents and evidence submitted confirmed that the vehicle was insured with the plaintiff company under the unified third-party liability insurance policy. It also found that the accident occurred while the defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol, as established by the accident report. The court confirmed that this entitled the insurance company to seek reimbursement from the person responsible for the accident for the compensation it had paid. This right was based on Article 6 of the recourse provisions contained in the unified vehicle insurance policy. The court noted that the submitted documents proved the company had paid AED116,203 for damage to public property and AED6,770 for ambulance and medical transport services. It added that the defendant did not provide any evidence to challenge those documents or question their validity. He also failed to attend court hearings despite being properly notified. The court concluded that the defendant was responsible for the damages resulting from the accident and that the insurance company was entitled to recover the amounts it had paid. It ruled in absentia that he must pay AED122,973, along with legal interest of 3% per annum from the date the lawsuit was filed until full payment. The court also ordered him to pay the fees, expenses and AED200 in attorney fees.