Heirs of employee, who died due to firm's negligence, get Dhs200,000 blood money in Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court ruled that a company must pay employee's heirs Dhs200,000 in compensation for all material and moral damages, to be distributed among the heirs according to their legal share. The employee died due to the company's negligence.

The heirs of the deceased filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that the deceased died as a result of the defendant’s error, negligence, lack of caution, failure to comply with decisions, laws and regulations, and breach of professional and craft standards. The Public Prosecution initiated a criminal case against the company and the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance ruled to convict the company in absentia and fine it Dhs30,000.

The company was also ordered to pay the heirs of the deceased Dhs200,000 in legal blood money. This decision was upheld on appeal by the Court of Cassation, prompting the heirs to file a lawsuit demanding comprehensive compensation of Dhs350,000 from the company for the damage they suffered as a result of their ancestor’s death, plus legal interest at a rate of 12% from the date of filing the lawsuit until full payment.

The case file states that the deceased had no heirs other than the plaintiffs: his mother, wife and children. The company's error was established and caused material damages to the plaintiffs, represented by depriving the wife, children and mother of their sole provider.

The plaintiffs also suffered moral damages in the form of grief, sorrow and psychological pain due to the death of their ancestor. Therefore, the court found it necessary to oblige the company to pay compensation to the heirs for all the material, moral and ethical damages they suffered due to the company's error resulting in the death of the plaintiffs' ancestor.

The court ordered the company to pay Dhs200,000 in compensation for the material and moral damages suffered by the heirs. This amount shall be distributed among them according to their respective legal shares. The company was obligated to pay the legal fees and expenses.