Sharjah accident victim in coma to get Dh1.1m compensation

The victim of a road accident in Sharjah has been awarded compensation of Dh1.1 million by the Sharjah Appeals Court.

Mohammed Madathil Prampil, 54, a salesman of Lulu Hypermarket in Sharjah, was hit by a vehicle on January 15, 2012, at around 11pm near the Al Falah Plaza when he was going home after work.

But the Indian salesman cannot be informed about the court’s decision because Mohammed, who had worked for 12 years in Lulu, has been bed-ridden and comatose for the past two years at his home in Thamarassery near Ponnani in Kerala.

Mohammed was at first admitted to Kuwait Hospital in Sharjah for a severe head injury which left him unconscious. He could not be revived even after a month’s medical treatment, according to legal sources that handled the case.

“Mohammed was almost motionless and unable to move his body. He was sent to India for further treatment and has remained in that condition for more than two years now. His wife is taking care of him,” said Advocate Shamsudeen Karunagappally of Al Kabahan Advocates and Legal Consultants, who represented Mohammed.

“He is unable to move even his eyeballs. He is lying stationary,” said Advocate Shamsudeen.

The victim’s son was brought into the UAE for the court proceedings and has now returned home. Mohammed has four children, two boys and two girls. Many of his relatives are working in the Lulu Group in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

His family approached the legal consultants in Dubai to claim compensation by issuing a power of attorney but the court did not accept the power of attorney from a man lying in coma.

“The family members cannot give a power of attorney when the head of the family is lying in a state of coma,” said the advocate.

“Then the son of the accident victim approached Sharjah Shariah court with a request to consider him as the guardian of his father. Normally, the father is the guardian if the son is below 21 years. In this case, the son, who is above 21, was allowed to become the guardian of his father,” said Shamsudeen.

His son Firoz came to the UAE and applied to the court to consider him as the guardian of his unconscious father, which was granted by the court. The court was convinced that the bed-ridden patient needs 24-hour attention and care.

Even though a claim of Dh6 million was made in the court, the Sharjah Court of First Instance gave a verdict of compensation of Dh600,000. However, the verdict was appealed and the appeal court finally granted Dh1.1 million and five per cent interest which comes to about Dh 75,000, as per the court verdict.