Ras Al Khaimah Court of Cassation, Civil Appeals Nos. 5 and 6 of 16 JY, judgment of 30 May 2021
Compensation for harm includes the loss of a chance to earn a salary and to be promoted, where the injury ends or curtails the victim's career; the trial judge assesses compensation for that loss, provided the assessment covers all elements of the harm and is reasonably explained. The trial court evaluates expert evidence, even on technical matters, and need not appoint further experts or a medical committee if it sees no need.
On 27 June 2018 the appellant in Appeal No. 5 was seriously injured in Ras Al Khaimah when his car hit a truck towing a trailer that he could not avoid because of road works. His car was insured with the respondent insurer against loss, damage, civil liability and personal accident for the driver, and he sued the insurer for AED 1,482,549.50, the difference between the salary he would have earned and the pension he received after the accident ended his career. On 15 February 2021 the court of first instance awarded the full amount; on 29 March 2021 the Court of Appeal reduced the award to AED 500,000. Both parties appealed in cassation and the appeals were joined. The Court of Cassation held that the loss of a chance to earn a salary and to be promoted, resulting from an accident, is one of the elements of compensable harm, and that assessing compensation for it is within the trial judge's discretion, provided the judgment sets out the elements of the harm and the assessment is reasonable. The Court of Appeal had explained its award by reference to the difference between salary and pension, and its assessment was within its powers. The trial court also has authority to evaluate expert evidence, even on technical questions, and is not required to appoint another expert or a medical committee where it sees no need; the insurer's complaint that a medical committee should have examined the injured man was therefore rejected. Both appeals were dismissed, leaving the AED 500,000 award in place.
For claims arising from serious injury, the ruling confirms that lost career prospects, measured for example as the gap between salary and pension, are recoverable, but that the trial court has wide latitude over the amount: the claimant's full actuarial loss may be cut substantially on appeal without the Court of Cassation intervening.
| Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 (Civil Transactions Law) Decided under this law; it has been replaced by Civil Transactions Law 2025. |
“من عناصر التعويض عن الضرر. فوات الفرصة في الحصول على الراتب والترقي في العمل نتيجة الحادث. تقدير التعويض الجابر لضرر فوات الفرصة”Short quotation from the judgment as published by the court. The full judgment is on the court’s official service.
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