Woman ordered to pay Dh350,000 after crash leaves girl without kidney

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court has ordered a woman to pay Dh350,000 in compensation to the father of a 14-year-old girl who suffered life-altering injuries after being struck by the woman’s vehicle while crossing a pedestrian path on an electric scooter.

According to court records, the girl was using a designated pedestrian crossing on her personal e-scooter when the driver, through what the court described as “error and lack of caution,” hit her, causing severe injuries.

The final medical report detailed the most serious injuries, which included the complete removal of her right kidney, the extraction of a tumour, and the removal of her right adrenal gland, Al Khaleej newspaper reported. The girl also required further surgery on her remaining kidney and a period of intensive medical treatment.

The girl’s father filed a civil lawsuit against the driver, arguing that her negligent operation of the vehicle directly caused the accident and the resulting injuries.

In her defence, the driver claimed that the child “shared responsibility,” arguing that the girl crossed without taking proper precaution and that the collision happened while she was driving at a low speed. She maintained that the girl’s actions were the main cause of the incident.

The court rejected the driver’s argument, stating that it conflicted with the evidence and with an earlier criminal ruling that had already found her fully responsible for the accident. The court also noted that the seriousness of the girl’s injuries did not support the driver’s claim of low speed.

In its judgment, the court stressed that the victim was a minor and that both legislation and legal precedent place the full duty of caution on the driver, not the child.

The woman was therefore found civilly liable and ordered to pay Dh350,000 in compensation to the girl’s guardian.