Legal Consultants of Dubai often been asked this question regarding the
length of personal injury claims before the competent court which is very
unpredictable and depends on certain factors detailed in this article.
As I said, personal injury claims cannot be quantified in a number of years as
it can be as straightforward as a road accident matter or can be as complex as
medical negligence, thus, there is no prescribed timeline for such cases,
although the timeline can be predicted depending on various circumstances. In
general, civil claims in UAE may take a minimum of 8-12 months and may extend up
to 3 years.
However, there are situations leading to variation in such timeframe as
follows:
- The gravity of the injury or the loss incurred;
- The time duration for gathering evidence;
- Medical expert reports;
- Medical committee reports in medical negligence cases;
- Finding and establishing other party’s liability.
The aforementioned factors or circumstances often change the timeframe in court
for personal injury cases. The first and most important is the type of injury
sustained by the victim which may impact his immediate right to file a claim as
he may be under critical medical supervision which can delay registering the
case or post such trauma, he shall be medically assessed to ascertain the extent
of bodily damage to estimate the compensation amount.
In addition, the circumstance of the case is a crucial factor in understanding
the time limit as stated above, personal injury cases for road accident will
take lesser time as compared to a medical misconduct or negligence matter.
As in road accident cases a police report and medical evidence would be clear to
ascertain the negligence of the driver. However, in medical negligence cases,
the victim shall prove beyond any reasonable doubt the concerned doctor was
negligent in performing his/her duties due to which the claimant has suffered
temporary or permanent damage.
Medical claims, under the new UAE law primarily require a report from the
Committee especially established in determining the negligence or a report from
the health ministry in the relevant Emirate. This procedure is mandatory under
the new law, thus increasing the time limit of any claim as the report prepared
by the authority is substantive proof in determining the guilt. Whereas, upon
receiving the report, the courts only have to comprehend the amount of
compensation to be payable by the other party bearing in mind the authority’s
report.
Another significant aspect will be the liability bearer, as in whether the other
party accepts its liability or not and how long will the other party contest
before the court until the court is satisfied. The early the liability is
established, the shorter the time would be for the proceedings. Best Lawyers in
Dubai have record-breaking achievements in winning personal injury claims
without any undue delays.
Dr. Hassan Elhais, along with his team of legal consultants and prominent
lawyers in the UAE, has made a name for himself as a renowned specialist in the
fields of civil law, company incorporation, construction law, maritime law,
banking law, criminal law, family law, inheritance law, and arbitration.  Â
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