Abu Dhabi court obligates man to pay Dhs15,000 compensation for assaulting woman

 Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court has ordered a man to pay Dhs15,000 in compensation to a woman. 

The woman opened the door of her home to be surprised by the defendant breaking into her home and assaulting her in various parts of her body, as a result of which she needed rest and medical treatment for over twenty days. 

Earlier, the woman filed a lawsuit against the defendant in which she requested that he be obligated to pay her Dhs150,000 in compensation for the material, moral and psychological harms that he caused to her. 

She also requested the court to obligate the defendant to pay the incurred fees, expenses and lawyer’s fees with expedited enforcement of the judgment. 

The plaintiff pleaded that she opened the door of her house to be surprised by the defendant breaking into her residence and beating her all over her body, which required her to rest and receive medical treatment for over 20 days. 

A criminal case was filed against the defendant, under which he was convicted and slapped with a fine of Dhs5,000 but was acquitted of the accusation, threats and insults attributed to him. 

What the defendant did caused the plaintiff material and moral harms, according to the investigations conducted by the public prosecution. It also harmed her body and causing her sadness and pain, which prompted her to file her lawsuit.

The court explained that according to Article 282 of Civil Transactions Law, the author of any tort, even if not discerning, shall be bound to repair the prejudice. 

Article 292 of the same law stipulates that damages shall, under all circumstances, be assessed to cover the prejudice sustained and the lost profit provided it is a natural consequence of the prejudicial act, the court added. 

Article 293 of the same law stipulates that moral damages include trespassing against others in their freedom, honour, dignity, reputation, social standing or financial position, it said. 

The court stated that according to the previous criminal ruling, the defendant assaulted the victim’s physical integrity, causing injuries that prevented her from performing her personal work for over 20 days, based on the victim’s statements, what was stated in the medical report and conducted testimonies. He, however, was acquitted of the charges of insult and threat, it added. 

Based on the above, the court may not re-examine these elements, but its role is limited to completing the compensation by determining how much it is. 

The court confirmed that the defendant’s error was conclusively proven and it was clear that this error was the cause of the damages suffered by the complainant (bruises, scratches and superficial wounds in the left neck, forearm, arm and left wrist plus swelling in the fourth finger of the right hand) but did not result in disability or handicap. 

The harms mentioned above over the moral and psychological harms that the victim suffered and the feelings of sadness, grief and regret, the court sees that compensation for all these harms should be estimated at Dhs15,000.