Dubai court awards Dh2 million to man left permanently disabled in taxi incident

Dubai: The Dubai Civil Court of First Instance has ordered a taxi driver and the company he worked for to jointly pay Dh2 million in compensation to a man who suffered a permanent disability after sustaining severe injuries in an incident involving a taxi. According to court records, the victim filed a civil lawsuit seeking Dh35 million in compensation. He said that late at night he stopped a taxi intending to return home, but the driver refused to take him. While he was standing beside the front window of the vehicle attempting to speak with the driver, the latter drove off despite the conversation not having ended, causing him to fall onto the road and suffer serious injuries. The claimant said the accident resulted in a skull fracture, loss of part of the skull bone, disfigurement to the left side of the face, loss of the senses of smell and taste, and recurrent epileptic seizures. A forensic report found that he had sustained a permanent disability amounting to a 55% impairment of overall bodily functions, leaving him unable to live a normal life or take up employment. The victim also said the Public Prosecution had referred the driver to the Criminal Court on charges of endangering his physical safety. The court convicted the driver and sentenced him to three months in prison followed by deportation after finding that he had breached duties of caution and care while carrying out his work. The ruling later became final. During the civil proceedings, the taxi company argued that the case should not be accepted against it because the driver's residency under its sponsorship had been cancelled and he was no longer affiliated with the company. It also requested that the insurance company be joined in the case to bear any compensation awarded. The insurance company, meanwhile, argued that the claim was barred by the statute of limitations and alternatively sought a reduction in compensation on the grounds that the claimant had contributed to the accident. The court rejected those arguments, ruling that the determining factor in establishing an employer's liability is whether the employee was performing his duties at the time of the incident, not whether the employment relationship later ended. Documents showed that the driver was working for the taxi company when the incident occurred. The court also dismissed the statute of limitations defence, explaining that when a compensation claim arises from a criminal act, the limitation period remains suspended while the criminal case is being considered and only begins once the criminal judgment becomes final. It further noted that the final criminal judgment had conclusively established the driver's fault and the causal link between that fault and the victim's injuries, leaving the civil court only to assess the amount of compensation. The court found that the claimant had suffered both material and moral harm, including permanent physical injuries as well as pain and psychological suffering resulting from the incident. However, it also took into account the criminal court's finding that the victim had contributed to the occurrence of the accident. Under the Civil Transactions Law, compensation may be reduced where the injured party contributed to causing or increasing the damage. The court also held the taxi company liable, stating that an employer's responsibility extends to harmful acts committed by an employee while performing work or where the employment relationship enabled the act to occur. The court ultimately ordered the driver and the taxi company to jointly pay Dh2 million in compensation for material and moral damages, together with legal interest at a rate of 5% from the date the judgment becomes final until full payment. It also ruled that the taxi company's claim against the insurance company was inadmissible because the dispute had not first been referred to the Committee for Settlement and Resolution of Insurance Disputes, as required by law.