Court doubles compensation amount for employee who got injured during work

Aya El Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Abu Dhabi Appellate Court raised compensation for a worker from Dhs50,000 to Dhs100,000, based on the fact that he sustained injuries during work, including fractures in the thoracic vertebrae, which resulted in undergoing two surgeries and difficulty in walking.

According to the case papers, the complainant filed a lawsuit, demanding that the employer be obligated to pay him Dhs500,000 in material and moral compensation, with interest of 12%, from the date of filing the lawsuit until full payment.

The complainant explained that he worked for the company and got injued due to the lack of security and safety measures, indicating that the company was convicted according to a criminal verdict.

The appellant added that he suffered material and moral damages which included a disability of 50% of his total physical capacity, physical and psychological pains, difficulty in walking, curvature of the spine, fractures in the thoracic vertebrae, and ulceration of the central thoracic spinal cord with a disability of 50%.

The company filed a lawsuit requesting the inclusion of an insurance company as a third party but the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to include the insurance company as a party. 

The Abu Dhabi Court for Family and Civil and Administrative Cases (First Degree) obligated the company to pay the appellant Dhs50,000 in compensation for the material and moral damages he incurred, in addition to the fees and expenses of the case.

The worker appealed the verdict, stressing that the compensation set by the court was not commensurate with the damages he incurred.

He also pointed out that the medical report estimated his disability at 50% of his total strength and requested compensation of Dhs100,000 with the interest.

The court indicated that the injuries sustained by the appellant deserved more compensation than estimated by the Court of First Instance, and amended the compensation to become Dhs100,000 and obligated the employer to pay an annual delay interest of 4% from the date of the verdict until the full payment, in addition to the expenses and fees of the lawsuit.