Indian survivor of 2019 Dubai bus accident awarded Rs 11 crore compensation

Dubai: A man from India who was severely injured in a bus accident in Dubai in 2019, resulting in the death of 17 people, including 12 Indians, has been granted compensation of Dh 5 million (equivalent to over Rs 11 crore).

The individual, Muhammad Baig Mirza, was a 20-year-old engineering student at the time of the incident, which occurred during his journey from Oman to the UAE. The accident claimed the lives of 17 out of 31 passengers on the bus. The news was reported by the Khaleej Times on Wednesday.

The accident occurred when the bus driver hit an overhead height barrier at the entry point of a metro station parking here, leaving the upper-left portion of the bus destroyed, the report said. The driver, a native of Oman, was sentenced to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay the blood money of Dh 3.4 million to the victims' families.

According to Mr Mirza's lawyers, the UAE Insurance Authority, a primary compromise court, initially awarded him Dh 1 million as compensation. The petitioners then approached the Dubai Court of First Instance and obtained a judgment that revised the compensation figure to Dh 5 million, the report said.

Mr Mirza was on his way from Muscat after spending the holidays with his relatives when the accident occurred, critically injuring him.

According to the report, Mr Mirza was admitted to a hospital in Dubai for over two months and remained unconscious for 14 days, spending even more months after that in treatment in a rehabilitation centre.

According to the report, he was preparing for his final semester examination as part of his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and could not complete his studies.

Mr Mirza suffered severe brain damage in the accident, because of which doctors said his chances of returning to normal life were slim.

Additionally, the injuries to his skull, ears, mouth, lungs, arms and legs were also assessed by forensic medical experts.

Based on the report, which said that Mr Mirza had suffered 50 per cent permanent damage to his brain, the UAE Supreme Court directed the insurance company to pay the compensation, the report said.

"We are very happy with the judgement," Senior Consultant Easa Anees was quoted as saying.

With PTI input