Youth disabled in boat crash gets Dh1M payout

abu dhabi — A young man, who lost his left leg in a boat crash, has been awarded Dh1 million as compensation.

The Abu Dhabi Civil Court of First Instance ordered the boat’s captain, who rammed the vessel into the man’s jet ski, and the boat insurance firm, to compensate the victim for the damages he suffered as a result of the accident.

Official court documents stated that the man in his 20s was jet-skiing near one of the beaches in Abu Dhabi when the boat hit him.

The collision caused him serious injuries and multiple fractures, leading to the amputation of his left leg.

The Criminal Court of First Instance had found the boat’s captain guilty of causing the accident due to speeding and recklessness. The court sentenced the captain to two months in jail and fined him Dh5,000.

The young man then filed a civil lawsuit against the captain and his insurance firm, demanding Dh10 million as compensation.

A medical report said the man suffered a traumatic injury to the pelvis and a dislocated fracture of the pubic bone. The man also suffered a severe trauma to his left leg and fractures in the thigh. He underwent an operation wherein a metal skewer was placed inside the thigh bone, it added.

The report confirmed that the man’s left leg was amputated from below the knee, which constitutes a permanent disability. The injuries to his pelvic bones had caused him chronic back pain and affected his ability to bend properly or sit for a long time, said medics. They added that the man also suffered 100 per cent impotence.