Dubai bus accident: Salam Pappinissery's intervention in the case,An order has been issued to pay 47 lakh Indian rupees.

Dubai bus accident: Salam Pappinissery's intervention in the case where legal firms were avoided saying they would not receive compensation has borne fruit. An order has been issued to pay 47 lakh Indian rupees (two lakh six thousand dirhams) including court costs.

7/12/20242 min read

Bus accident in Dubai; Salam Pappinissery's intervention in the case where legal firms were avoided saying they would not receive compensation has borne fruit. An order has been issued to pay 47 lakh Indian rupees (two lakh six thousand dirhams) including court costs.

Dubai: The Dubai court has ordered a compensation of 2 lakh dirhams (45 lakh Indian rupees) to the family of AB Abraham, a native of Karuwatta, Haripad, Alappuzha, who died in a bus accident. The court's verdict in favor of AB's family is the end of seven months of legal proceedings.

On July 12, 2020, the mini bus in which AB was travelling, which was going to Abu Dhabi via the Sheikh Zayed Al Manara Bridge in Dubai, crashed into a cement barrier and caught fire due to the negligence of the driver, a Pakistani national. Out of the 14 passengers in the accident, 2 people including AB died and the remaining 12 escaped with injuries.

Dubai Police filed a case against a Pakistani national for reckless driving and referred the case to the Criminal Court. After analyzing the case, the First Instance Court sentenced him to three months in prison, a fine of 1,000 dirhams, and a compensation of 200,000 dirhams to the family of the deceased for causing harm to the life and property of another person.

However, the Pakistani national appealed against this verdict. The court, which considered the appeal petition, appointed a technical expert to investigate the cause of the accident and, based on the report submitted by the technician, found that the Pakistani national's negligence was not the cause of the accident and acquitted him.

After the death of AB, who was the family's main support, the family, which was in financial crisis, approached several law firms and lawyers to get the compensation they deserved, but the criminal court found the accused not guilty and acquitted them, saying that they would not be able to get the compensation.

Later, AB's family approached the court in connection with a law firm in the UAE, but the case was dismissed on the grounds that they did not submit sufficient documents.

After learning that Yab Legal Services had taken up the case of some people who had been involved in the same accident three years later and had provided compensation, AB's family member Paul George approached Salam Pappinissery, CEO of Yab Legal Services. Understanding AB's family's crisis, he initiated the necessary steps to reopen the case. A case was filed in the Insurance Disputes Resolution Court against the insurance company in the UAE that had insured the bus that was involved in the accident, seeking compensation.

AB's lawyer appeared in court with documents such as the death certificate, accident report, copy of the criminal verdict and a certificate stating that it was final, documents confirming the inheritance rights of the vehicle and the plaintiffs, and a power of attorney.

After carefully examining the documents, the court found that the driver of the vehicle was at fault in the accident and this led to the death of the plaintiffs' heir. The court therefore ordered the opposing insurance company to pay Abi's family two hundred thousand dirhams (46 lakh Indian rupees) in compensation.