Abu Dhabi court orders man to pay Dh70,000 after damaging eye-test machine

Dubai: A man has been ordered to pay Dh70,000 in compensation to a medical centre after he damaged a high-precision eye-examination device during a routine visit.

The Abu Dhabi Civil Family and Administrative Court ruled that the man was liable for the cost after entering the eye-testing room without permission and attempting to use the machine himself.

According to case records, the medical centre filed a civil lawsuit seeking Dh60,000 for the repair of the damaged device, in addition to Dh198,000 for loss of income due to the machine’s downtime, Al Khaleej Arabic daily reported.

The centre stated that after the patient completed his consultation, he went into the eye-examination room unaccompanied and used a microscope-based optical device, causing it to malfunction. The incident was documented, and the centre lodged a police report. The man was later fined Dh10,000 in the criminal case for damaging property.

However, the court rejected the centre’s claim for repair costs and loss of earnings, noting that it had not provided any formal invoices, quotations, or technical reports to prove the value of the alleged damage. The judgment stated that financial claims cannot be based on unverified assertions and must be supported by clear, credible evidence.

As a result, the court limited its ruling to the Dh70,000 compensation awarded, concluding that the medical centre had failed to meet the required burden of proof for additional damages.